DEFENCE

Armed Conflict: South Atlantic

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) recent assessment he has made of and (b) advice he has received from Defence Chiefs on (i) the UK naval capability and (ii) response time in the event of armed conflict involving British forces in the South Atlantic; and when any such advice was received.

Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence undertakes regular assessments of potential military threats to the Falkland Islands as with all UK Overseas Territories to ensure that we retain appropriate capabilities to address any emerging threats.
	A range of military assets are deployed in defence of the Falkland Islands, including air defence aircraft, naval vessels and ground forces designed to ensure the security and territorial integrity of the Islands and its population. We also retain the ability to reinforce those assets with additional deployed forces, including naval capability, if required.

Armed Forces: Life Insurance

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many of the soldiers who served in the conflict in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq were covered by PAX life insurance but with fewer than 15 units of insurance;
	(2)  how many soldiers who have served in the conflict in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq did so while being covered by PAX life insurance;
	(3)  how many soldiers who have served in the conflict in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq served without having PAX life insurance or any other life insurance;
	(4)  how many soldiers who have served in the conflict in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq were killed without having either PAX life insurance or any other life insurance.

Andrew Robathan: I will write to the right hon. Member with the information requested.

Armed Forces: Life Insurance

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what advice is provided to military personnel on the life insurance options available to them.

Andrew Robathan: Information on the personal insurance cover available is specifically provided to personnel during initial training and on pre-deployment briefings, including information on schemes specifically designed with the needs of service personnel in mind. Information is also readily available through units' human resources (HR) administrative staffs and through single service and central defence intranet sites.
	HR administrative staffs are prevented, however, by the Financial Services Authority regulations, from providing individuals with specific financial advice, and are instructed that they should inform individuals that they must seek financial advice from a suitably qualified professional financial adviser should it be required.

Departmental Recruitment

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which areas of his Department’s recruitment process are (a) currently and (b) scheduled to be outsourced; what assessment he has made of the benefit to his Department of outsourcing recruitment in each area currently outsourced; and what benefit he expects to achieve in each area to be outsourced.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 10 January 2012
	Since 2008, the Army has sought a commercial recruiting partner to transform Army recruiting by exploiting the expertise of the private sector while retaining a strong military interface with potential recruits at key stages, in particular the selection and nurturing stage. The aim of the Recruiting Partnering Project is to recruit the right quantity and quality of officer and soldier recruits, into both the Regular and Territorial Army, in order to maintain operational capability. The competition phase is now nearing an end and from an original five interested parties, the competition has now generated two draft bids which meet the requirement to deliver an integrated recruiting service consistently to meet the Army’s recruiting targets. The solution will also deliver essential information and communications technology to support Royal Navy and Royal Air Force recruiting operations as their contracts come to an end in 2012.
	The project is currently subject to the approvals process with the intention that a recommended supplier will be appointed in the near future and a subsequent contract awarded in March 2012. As the project is still subject to competitive rules, no details can be released at this stage. However, generic benefits will include substantial hard cash savings and reductions in military manpower (although a proportion will remain in recruiting) and the MOD civilian work force.
	There are no plans to outsource recruitment in respect of entry into the civil service.

Documents: Data Protection

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the criteria on which documents are marked (a) Protect, (b) Restricted, (c) Confidential, (d) Secret and (e) Top Secret; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) uses the criteria in annex 1 of HMG Security Policy Framework (V7.0, October 2011) published by the Cabinet Office at the following link:
	http://cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/security-policy-framework
	This is a mandatory requirement on all Government Departments and agencies, the MOD does not independently set policy for protective marking.

EU Law

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the regulations his Department brought into force through (a) primary legislation, (b) secondary legislation and (c) other means originated from proposals by the European Commission in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence introduced one piece of secondary legislation during the period in question which originated from proposals by the European Commission. The Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (S.I. 201 1/1848) was laid before Parliament on 29 July 2011, and came into force on 21 August 2011.
	These regulations transposed into domestic legislation the EU Defence and Security Directive (2009/81/EC), which had been agreed by the British Government when it was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on 13 July 2009.

European Fighter Aircraft: Exports

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of potential exports of Eurofighter to (a) Japan, (b) India and (c) the Middle East; and if he will make a statement.

Gerald Howarth: holding answer 12 January 2012
	My hon. Friend will have been disappointed to hear that Japan announced on 20 December 2011 their decision not to purchase the Eurofighter Typhoon.
	There remains strong interest in Typhoon. Typhoon is one of two aircraft to have been down-selected by India to participate in the final phase of its medium multi-role combat aircraft competition. An announcement was made by Downing Street on 2 April 2010 that the Sultanate of Oman intends to purchase Typhoon on which discussions are taking place. It is also competing in a number of other important markets in the middle east, including the UAE which recently invited the Eurofighter Typhoon consortium to submit proposals for their requirement.
	I expect an increase in interest in Typhoon following its highly successful air defence and ground attack roles on recent operations in Libya, where it consistently demonstrated exceptional levels of reliability, performance, accuracy, and overall cost-effectiveness.

Japan: Military Aircraft

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with BAE Systems on the decision of the Government of Japan to choose to procure the F35 joint strike fighter.

Peter Luff: Her Majesty’s Government are clearly disappointed that the Eurofighter Typhoon bid for Japan’s F-X future fighter requirement, led by BAE Systems, was unsuccessful. I have not held any discussions with the company on the decision.
	This Department is committed to providing support to defence export campaigns where there is a direct benefit to defence to do so. Ministry of Defence Ministers and officials are providing support to all Typhoon export campaigns as part of an active and innovative defence diplomacy initiative. Indeed, ministerial colleagues from across Government have travelled to Japan taking the opportunity to discuss the operational success of Typhoon. We will continue to work closely with BAE Systems, our Eurofighter partners and colleagues from across Government in support of ongoing Typhoon export campaigns.

Military Attachés

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to review the role military attachés play in promoting UK defence interests abroad.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 12 January 2012
	The role of defence attachés is kept under review, and the forthcoming Defence Engagement Strategy, which we expect to publish in the near future, will enable the process to be undertaken jointly by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

NATO

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the UK's total financial contribution to NATO was in each of the last five years; and what comparative assessment he has made of the level of the UK's contribution compared to the other NATO partners.

Gerald Howarth: The United Kingdom's financial contribution to NATO common funds for each of the years in question is set out in the following table. National cost shares are calculated using an agreed formula which reflects the relative economic strength of the allies.
	These contributions complement the considerable military capability which we make available to NATO, and the manpower which we provide to help run the alliance command and force structures, and agencies. Allies have agreed that they should aim to invest at least 2% of GDP in Defence and we continue to encourage others to work towards this goal.
	
		
			 UK contribution 
			 £ million 
			 Financial year NATO military common funds (1) NATO civil budget (2) NATO operations and missions (1) 
			 2007-08 110.0 25.9 21.1 
			 2008-09 105.0 25.7 50.3 
			 2009-10 124.1 26.3 47.3 
			 2010-11 102.1 24.7 72.0 
			 2011-12(3) 106.7 22.8 71.9 
			 (1) Funded by the Ministry of Defence. (2) Funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. (3 )Estimated contribution. For other financial years the figures show the final out-turn.

WALES

Co-operatives

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps (a) her Department and (b) those bodies for which her Department is responsible are taking to mark UN Year of the Co-operative 2012; and if she will make a statement.

David Jones: The Government are working closely with the Mutuals Taskforce and Co-operatives UK to develop and take full advantage of opportunities across the UK to celebrate the achievements of co-operative organisations during the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives. We are also seeking discussions with the Welsh Government about the plans.

Departmental Equality

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what equality impact assessments her Department has carried out since May 2010; and for what purpose in each case.

David Jones: The Wales Office has not brought forward any proposals requiring an equality impact assessment and therefore has not carried out any such assessments since May 2010.

Departmental Manpower

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many speechwriters her Department employs at each pay grade.

David Jones: None.

SCOTLAND

Aviation

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with Ministers in other Departments on future aviation links between Scotland and London following the proposed sale of BMI to International Airlines Group.

David Mundell: Scotland Office Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Department for Transport on air connectivity in Scotland, including on implications of the proposed sale of BMI to International Airlines Group. I most recently discussed the issue with the Minister of State, Department for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs Villiers), last week and we continue to keep in close contact on the matter.

Departmental Manpower

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many speechwriters his Department employs at each pay grade.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ speechwriters. Staff from different grades may be involved in speechwriting work, but this would be done alongside undertaking other duties.

Departmental Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was paid to officials in his Department in (a) bonuses, (b) allowances and (c) other payments additional to basic salary in each of the last two years for which figures are available; what categories of payment may be made to officials in addition to basic salary; what the monetary value is of each category of payment; and what the monetary value was of the 20 largest such payments made in each of the last two years.

David Mundell: All staff in the Scotland Office are on secondment from other Government bodies, in the majority of cases, the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Justice and therefore staff may be eligible for bonuses, allowances and other payments additional to basic salary in different ways through their parent bodies' pay arrangements.
	The Scotland Office is not responsible for payments made through end of year performance payments or allowances under staffs' parent bodies' pay arrangements and does not hold information centrally on these matters.
	The Scotland Office is however able to directly authorise non-consolidated and non-pensionable bonus payments (including small and instantaneous awards, eg vouchers) in recognition of special effort, achievement and commitment. The following table shows the cost of such payments:
	
		
			 Financial year Total cost of payments (£) 
			 2009-10 2,925 
			 2010-11 3,670 
		
	
	The only other category of payment made to officials in addition to basic salary was overtime/travel time payments totalling £73,649.76 in 2009-10 and £46,228.63 in 2010-11. The monetary value of the twenty largest overtime/travel time payments made in 2009-10 was £29,093.90, and in 2010-11 was £27,207.77.

EU Law

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many of the regulations his Department brought into force through (a) primary legislation, (b) secondary legislation and (c) other means originated from proposals by the European Commission in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has not brought into force any regulations in primary legislation in 2010 or 2011.
	The Scotland Office is responsible for managing a programme of secondary legislation, under order making powers provided in the Scotland Act 1998.
	In 2010 we brought forward one order which included proposals that originated from the European Commission. This was the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2010, which was made in consequence of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 of the Scottish Parliament, which introduced management tools to deliver requirements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

Housing Benefit

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met the (a) Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and (b) Scottish Federation of Housing Associations to discuss the effects in Scotland of changes to housing benefit regulation in Scotland; and whether he intends to meet them in order to discuss this issue in 2012.

David Mundell: The Department for Work and Pensions is in contact with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations concerning current changes to housing benefit regulation in Scotland. The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), is soon due to meet the President of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to discuss issues relating to Government policy.

Sovereignty

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, in the case that agreement is not reached with the Scottish Government on proposals for a referendum on separation, the issue would be referred to the disputes procedures under the Joint Ministerial Agreement with the devolved Administrations.

David Mundell: On 10 January 2012, Official Report, columns 51-52, the Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), set out the Government's clear view that it is not within the powers of the Scottish Parliament to legislate for a referendum on independence and published a consultation on how to deliver a legal referendum.
	I am confident that we can work with the Scottish Government to deliver a legal, fair and decisive referendum.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Correspondence

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish the letter he has sent to political parties in Northern Ireland inviting them to talks on how to come to terms with the past; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: It is clear that no consensus currently exists on the issue of dealing with the past in Northern Ireland. In my forthcoming meetings with the political parties, I intend to seek their views on how consensus can be found. The Government are ready to make their own contribution on the matter but they do not ‘own' the past and cannot impose solutions; all those with an interest in Northern Ireland have a part to play.
	Copies of the letters sent to the political parties have been placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Manpower

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many speechwriters his Department employs at each pay grade.

Owen Paterson: None.

EU Law

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the regulations his Department brought into force through (a) primary legislation, (b) secondary legislation and (c) other means originated from proposals by the European Commission in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

Owen Paterson: None.

Joint Ministerial Group on Corporation Tax

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the outcome of the recent meeting of the Joint Ministerial Group on Corporation Tax; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: We had a very constructive first meeting on 15 December of the Ministerial Working Group on Rebalancing the Northern Ireland Economy, bringing together the First and deputy First Ministers, the Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office, the right hon. Member for East Devon (Mr Swire) and I, under the chairmanship of the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Gauke).
	The group agreed an intensive programme of work by officials aimed at examining in detail a range of issues associated with the devolution of corporation tax which need to be pursued before final decisions are taken. That work is now under way.

Police: Intelligence Services

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of implementation of Annex E of the St Andrews Agreement; what the status is of memoranda of understanding between the Security Services and the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what high-level memoranda of understanding (MOUs) between the Security Services and (a) the Police Service of Northern Ireland and (b) others have been published since the St Andrews Agreement; what other levels of MOUs exist; and whether they are available.

Owen Paterson: The Government believe that the arrangements for national security in Northern Ireland are operating effectively. We are confident that the five key national security principles relating to the sharing of intelligence between the PSNI and the Security Service are fully embedded.
	As set out in my written ministerial statement to the House on 19 December 2011, Official Report, columns 145-46WS, Lord Carlile of Berriew's latest independent assessment of the arrangements has found that there are no difficulties of any significance in the inter-operability between the PSNI and the Security Service and identifies this is a sound working partnership and one that is to be commended.
	Memoranda of understanding between the Security Service and others, including the PSNI, exist. The relationship between the Security Service and PSNI was set out in a statement in January 2007 by the then Prime Minister.

Poverty

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the effect of Government policies on (a) pensioner and (b) child poverty.

Owen Paterson: These are matters which I and the Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), discuss regularly with Northern Ireland Ministers. They were also raised at a meeting with the Minister for Social Development and the Minister for Employment and Learning and the Minister for Welfare Reform my noble Friend the Lord Freud, last year.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Advertising

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what his policy is on the application of controls on subliminal advertising to (a) cinemas, (b) television programmes and (c) computer programmes; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: Advertising in the UK is controlled through a system of co-regulation and self-regulation, which is administered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). This regulatory system is independent of Government and is ultimately responsible for setting the standards in advertising, including those adverts shown at cinemas, on television, as well as computer/video in-game advertising.
	The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) are the bodies responsible for writing and maintaining the advertising codes.
	The ASA have advised that:
	“Broadcast advertising rule 3.8 [misleading advertising] states ‘No advertisement may use images of very brief duration, or any other technique that is likely to influence consumers, without their being fully aware of what has been done.’ A similar provision exists in the video-on-demand section of the CAP Code, which reflects the requirements of the 2003 Communications Act. Whilst the CAP Code does not itself contain a specific rule on subliminal advertising, complaints would likely be considered under the social responsibility clause.”

Arts

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will instruct English Heritage to take steps to prevent the dispersal of the collection of marbles formed by Henry Blundell now in the grounds of Ince Blundell Hall, Merseyside.

John Penrose: The removal of marbles at Ince Blundell is subject to Listed Building Consent and the decision rests with the local planning authority. Initially English Heritage advised that, if consent was given, the marbles should not be removed for one year to allow time for money to be raised for public or charitable acquisition. This condition was not accepted by the owner of Ince Blundell so English Heritage has advised refusal of consent for the removal of the marbles. However, some items have suffered serious deterioration and English Heritage has therefore advised their immediate removal for conservation purposes.

Arts: Expenditure

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the total expenditure was in each parliamentary constituency by his Department on the arts in 2011.

John Penrose: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) gives its expenditure on the arts to an arm’s length body—Arts Council England (ACE)—to distribute independently of Government. Therefore, DCMS does not distribute funding for the arts to individual constituencies. So far, in 2011-12, DCMS has given £342,343,485 in grant in aid to ACE (some of which is spent on running costs). ACE also receives funds from the National Lottery Distribution Fund, which it also distributes independently of Government.
	ACE has produced a table with its total expenditure on the arts by parliamentary constituency to date, in the financial year 2011-12. In this period, of ACE's expenditure that can be attributed to individual constituencies, £372,602,410 was distributed in 470 different constituencies. The geographical location of the investment reflects where the administrative base of the arts organisation is located, and therefore constituencies may be benefiting from work toured by or visiting from arts organisations with an administrative base located outside of the recipient constituency.
	A copy of the table will be deposited in the Library of both Houses.

Audio Equipment

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on how many occasions wireless microphones have been used at events hosted by his Department in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

John Penrose: The Department uses audio visual equipment at some events, as necessary, but we do not keep a record of the types of microphones used.

BBC

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether the BBC received any grants or loans from the EU between 2005 and 2011.

Edward Vaizey: This is a matter for the BBC and I have asked the BBC to write direct to my hon. Friend. A copy of the BBC's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

BBC

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will take steps to encourage the BBC to exercise greater restraint in its spending on hospitality.

Edward Vaizey: Under the terms of the BBC Charter and Agreement, the BBC is independent of Government and there is no provision for the Government to intervene in the BBC's day-to-day activities. It is the responsibility of the BBC Trust to ensure that the BBC delivers financial efficiency and to hold the BBC Executive to account for its performance in delivering value for money.
	The Government expect the BBC to achieve the highest standards of value-for-money for licence fee payers.

Broadband

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport to which areas he has extended the roll-out of superfast broadband by Broadband Delivery UK up to 2015.

Edward Vaizey: Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) has been engaged in vital preparatory work over the past few months in readiness for a large number of local procurements and project implementations during 2012. There are currently eight projects in procurement. Five other projects have had their local broadband plans approved and all other local broadband plans should be submitted by the end of February 2012 and approved by the end of April 2012. The BDUK framework will be available to local authorities from April 2012 with the first five procurements under the framework taking place commencing immediately, and with others to follow over the ensuing months. All procurements are scheduled for completion by the end of 2012. The projects are therefore all scheduled for completion by the 2015 deadline.

Broadband

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when his Department and the Scottish Government's joint working group on broadband coverage will next meet.

Edward Vaizey: The Scottish Government have not yet confirmed their agreement to establishing the proposed working group. However, officials from Scottish Government, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Scotland Office met on 12 January and agreed initial work that could be undertaken on broadband coverage.

Broadband: Brighton

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will make it his policy to permit the City of Brighton and Hove to enter the competition to bid for funding from the urban broadband fund for super-connection of broadband.

Edward Vaizey: The Government’s Super-Connected Cities Initiative is seeking to transform how people and organisations interact with each other, handle information, access services and do business. We believe that our major cities, where there is a high density of people and businesses, offer the greatest potential to achieve this effect. We have defined these cities as the four national capitals, the eight English core cities and any other city with more than 150,000 dwellings. Brighton and Hove does not meet any of these criteria and will therefore not be eligible to bid for the Urban Broadband Fund.

Civil Wars

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will assess the adequacy of levels of protection for the Civil War battlefield of Naseby.

John Penrose: The Battle of Naseby battlefield is included in English Heritage's Register of Historic Battlefields and is therefore subject to the policies set out in Planning Policy Statement 5: Planning for the Historic Environment. We are satisfied that it is currently afforded the level of protection appropriate to such a site.

Departmental Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much funding his Department allocated to sponsor apprenticeships in his Department in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and how much such funding he plans to allocate in 2012-13.

John Penrose: The Department had five apprentices in the period April 2010 to March 2011 and these were funded at a cost of £22,680. In 2011-12, to date, the Department does not have any apprenticeships and has no specific funding set aside to support the scheme. We pledged to accept up to five apprenticeships/work placements during 2011-12 and have taken on three work placements, but do not plan to offer any more for the remainder of the year. Similarly, for the period 2012-13 there is no specific funding set aside to sponsor apprenticeships, any funding towards the scheme will be made from our existing pay budget.

Departmental Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many apprentices were employed by his Department between (a) April 2010 and March 2011 and (b) April and December 2011; and how many apprenticeships he plans that his Department will sponsor between (i) January and March 2012 and (ii) April and March 2013.

John Penrose: The Department had five apprentices in the period April 2010 to March 2011. The Department had no apprentices between April and December 2011 but supported two summer work placements. There are currently no plans to sponsor apprenticeships between January 2012 and March 2013, while the Department focuses on delivering the Olympic Games and reorganisation following the Games. The Department will review the pledge again post-Olympics.

Digital Broadcasting: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of homes in Northern Ireland that have not switched their televisions to digital.

Edward Vaizey: The Government do not collect these statistics. The matter is primarily one for Digital UK, the independent not-for-profit company leading the implementation of switchover. Data from Digital UK's switchover tracker survey shows that in December 2011, 10 months before the digital switchover, 81% of Northern Ireland households were already watching digital television on at least one set, meaning 19% of Northern Ireland households had not yet switched to digital TV.

Digital Broadcasting: Radio

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what his policy is on switching radio from FM to digital; what assessment he has made of the potential effects of this switch on vehicle users; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: A radio switchover would only begin following the satisfaction of the Digital Radio Switchover criteria, which are:
	(i) When 50% of all listening is to digital;
	(ii) When national DAB coverage is comparable to FM; and local DAB reaches 90% of the population and all major roads.
	The Digital Radio Action Plan launched in 2010 and sets out the process for assessing the impact of a digital radio switchover for vehicle users, as well as what would be required to minimise any negative impacts.
	The action plan is updated on a quarterly basis and is available on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's website:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/Digital_RadioActionPlanDec11.pdf

Direct Selling

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of unwanted and unsolicited telephone marketing calls; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: Direct marketing is a legitimate business activity and it is particularly important to businesses trying to grow in difficult economic circumstances. However, unwanted and unsolicited calls can be a nuisance, so regulations are in place which enable consumers to opt out of such calls by registering with the Telephone Preference Scheme (TPS). The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003 provides the legislative underpinning for the scheme and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has enforcement responsibility and considers complaints about breaches. In May of last year, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) increased the ICO's powers in relation to the regulations, enabling the ICO to issue a fine of up to £500,000 for the most serious breaches. In addition, DCMS is discussing the effectiveness of the TPS with Ofcom, who are responsible for the contract, to ensure that consumers continue to be effectively protected and improvements are made where necessary.

EU Law

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many of the regulations his Department brought into force through (a) primary legislation, (b) secondary legislation and (c) other means originated from proposals by the European Commission in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

John Penrose: The number of such items brought into force, done so through secondary legislation only, in 2010 and 2011 respectively, were:
	1. Four—the Communications Act 2003 (Disclosure of Information) Order 2010 SI 2010/282), the Audiovisual Media Services Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/419), the Audiovisual Media Services (Product Placement) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/831) and the Audiovisual Media Services (Codification) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/1883).
	2. Four—the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/1208), the Electronic Communications (Universal Service) (Amendment) Order 2011 (SI 2011/1209), the Electronic Communications and Wireless Telegraphy Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/1210) and the Communications Act 2003 (Maximum Penalty for Contravention of Information Requirements) Order 2011 (SI 2011/1773).

EU Law

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which EU (a) Directives, (b) Regulations and (c) other legislation affecting his Department require transposition into UK law; and what estimate he has made of the cost to (i) the public purse and (ii) the private sector of such measures.

John Penrose: The Commission Decision of 10 October 2011 (Decision 2011/667/EU) on modalities for co-ordinated application of the rules on enforcement with regard to mobile satellite services (MSS) is currently being considered by the Department as it may require the amendment of the Authorisation of Frequency Use for the Provision of Mobile Satellite Services (European Union) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/672) which implement the previous decisions in relation to mobile satellite services. No decisions as to whether UK legislation must be amended have yet been taken, and therefore I am unable to provide an estimate of the cost to the public purse and the private sector.
	I am not aware of any other EU legislation currently requiring transposition for which this Department is responsible.

Libraries and Museum Act 1964

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he plans to take to ensure that the provisions of the Public Libraries and Museum Act 1964 are applied consistently nationwide; and what steps he plans to take to ensure proposed new community managed libraries remain part of the statutory service.

Edward Vaizey: The powers and duties of the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), under the Public Libraries & Museums Act 1964 only apply to library authorities in England. It is a matter for each local authority to configure their library services to fulfil the statutory duty placed on them under the 1964 Act—namely to provide a “comprehensive and efficient” public library service for their local library users. There is no absolute or single standard. Local authorities must assess local need and arrange their services to meet that need in light of available resource. It is for elected council members and local officials, in consultation with their communities, to make any necessary decisions about how money is being spent, to fulfil all their legal duties and having regard to all their community needs.
	A community supported library can be used in addition to the public library service or, in a measured way, as part of it but only in appropriate circumstances and after careful analysis.

Radio Frequencies

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on how many occasions (a) he and (b) his officials have met representatives of (i) mobile operators and (ii) the entertainment industry to discuss matters relating to spectrum use and availability in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: My officials and I have had numerous meetings with all interested stakeholders including all the mobile network operators and the British Entertainment Industry Radio Group at which spectrum has been among the matters discussed. Spectrum matters are also covered as appropriate in meetings with industry where spectrum use and availability is not the sole topic of discussion.

Radio Frequencies

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what recent discussions his Department has had with Ofcom on the auction of the 600MHz band; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what consideration his Department has given to designating the 600MHz spectrum band for use by licensed programme making and special events users; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The matter raised is an operational one for the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom). Our recent discussions with Ofcom on the award of the 600 MHz band have been to understand the current status of their work on this. My officials have spoken to Ofcom, who advised:
	“Ofcom are currently considering how to make spectrum at 600 MHz available. In doing this they are taking account of all the potential uses of the-spectrum, including its use for programme making and special events. They intend to consult on this once they have developed a longer term strategy for this and related bands”.

Radio Frequencies

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what his policy is on implementing the recommendation of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee that Ofcom includes a provision to revoke licences in the 800 MHz band in cases of interference.

Edward Vaizey: The matter raised is an operational one for the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom). Accordingly, my officials spoke to Ofcom, who advised:
	“Ofcom has extensively analysed and tested the potential for new services in the 800 MHz band to cause harmful interference to users of neighbouring bands. It is confident the technical and other licence conditions it includes in the new 800 MHz licences will give neighbouring users an appropriate level of protection from harmful interference.”

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Environment Protection

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent research she has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the global environmental impacts of UK livestock farming including greenhouse gas emissions arising from overseas land use change;
	(2)  what recent research she has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the potential for replacing imported soy with protein crops grown in Europe for animal feed use in the UK.

James Paice: DEFRA is funding research in partnership with industry to evaluate the environmental impacts of the production of UK poultry (Project LK0693) and pigs (Project LK0682) using life cycle analysis, including green house gas emissions arising from overseas land use change. Project LK0682 is evaluating the environmental consequences of replacing imported soy with home-grown peas and beans in UK pig diets.
	In 2009 DEFRA published a paper commissioned from ADAS on the potential to replace imported soya and maize with other feeds in livestock diets. This research is available on the website at:
	http://archive.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/gm/crops/documents/foodmatters-otherfeeds-1308.pdf
	Under the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Innovation Platform, the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), in partnership with DEFRA, BBSRC and the Scottish Government, is investing up to £15 million in collaborative R&D focusing on the challenge of sustainable protein production, which includes increasing the domestic supply of sustainably produced vegetable protein for farmed animals (including land and marine based aquaculture).

Agriculture: Subsidies

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate has been made of the total amount allocated to each region of the UK through the (a) single farm payment, (b) European Fisheries Fund and (c) Rural Development Programme in each of the last five years.

James Paice: The information is as follows:
	(a) Single Payment Scheme
	The amounts paid under the Single Payment Scheme, in millions of pounds per scheme year, are shown in table 1 as follows:
	
		
			 Single Payment Scheme 
			 £ million/pa 
			  2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 England 1,622 1,447 1,629 1,887 1,775 
			 Scotland 419 404 443 513 479 
			 Wales 224 228 251 287 267 
			 Northern Ireland 232 224 251 290 269 
		
	
	(b)  European Fisheries Fund
	The European Fisheries Fund (EFF) is intended to help secure a sustainable and profitable fisheries industry. It will grant financial support during the programme period 2007-13, with a view to help the fisheries sector adapt to changing circumstances.
	The budget for the European Fisheries fund was profiled over the period 2008-13, and has been allocated to England and the devolved Administrations of the UK. There was no budget profile in 2007, as the EFF Operational Programme was not finalised with the European Commission until 2008.
	The budget is further allocated to convergence and non-convergence regions within the UK. The convergence objective is aimed at supporting the least economically developed regions of the UK. This makes funding available for regions with average gross domestic product per capita below 75% of the European Union average. In terms of the EFF, the convergence objective results in more favourable aid intensity rates for convergence areas.
	The convergence regions in the UK are:
	(i) Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly;
	(ii) West Wales and the Valleys; and
	(iii) Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
	The total EFF budget allocated to convergence and non-convergence regions is shown in table 2. A summary of spend to 31 December 2010 is included in table 3.
	
		
			 Table 2: Summary of European Fishe ries Fund b udgets allocated to devolved Administrations, by convergence and non-convergence regions 
			 €000 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 
			 England        
			 Convergence 1,728 1,728 1,728 1,728 1,728 1,728 10,368 
			 Non-convergence 6,259 6,259 6,259 6,259 6,259 6,259 37,554 
			 Total 7,987 7,987 7,987 7,987 7,987 7,987 47,922 
			         
			 Scotland        
			 Convergence 2,937 2,937 2,937 2,937 2,937 2,937 17,622 
			 Non-convergence 6,253 6,253 6,253 6,253 6,253 6,253 37,518 
			 Total 9,190 9,190 9,190 9,190 9,190 9,190 55,140 
			         
			 Wales        
			 Convergence 2,527 2,527 2,527 2,527 2,527 2,527 15,162 
			 Non-convergence 250 250 250 250 250 250 1,500 
			 Total 2,777 2,777 2,777 2,777 2,777 2,777 16,662 
			         
			 Northern Ireland        
			 Convergence 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Non-convergence 3,016 3,016 3,016 3,016 3,016 3,016 18,096 
			 Total 3,016 3,016 3,016 3,016 3,016 3,016 18,096 
			 Note: The budget is profiled in calendar years. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Summary of European Fisheries Fund spend to 31 December 2010 by devolved Administrations, covering convergence and non-convergence regions 
			 €000 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 Total 
			 England      
			 Convergence 0 371 234 713 1,318 
			 Non-convergence 0 2,459 4,019 2,326 8,804 
			 Total 0 2,830 4,253 3,039 10,122 
			       
			 Scotland      
			 Convergence 0 1,525 3,770 3,802 9,097 
			 Non-convergence 0 963 6,660 5,609 13,232 
			 Total 0 2,488 10,430 9,411 22,329 
			       
			 Wales      
			 Convergence 0 0 276 495 771 
			 Non-convergence 0 0 79 87 166 
			 Total 0 0 355 582 937 
			       
		
	
	
		
			 Northern Ireland      
			 Convergence 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Non-convergence 0 30 754 591 1,375 
			 Total 0 30 754 591 1,375 
			 Note: 2011 figures reflect expenditure incurred to 31 October 2011. The table reflects expenditure incurred in calendar years. 
		
	
	(c) Rural Development Programme
	Table 4 as follows sets out the total expenditure figures for the 2007-13 Rural Development Programmes.
	
		
			 Table 4: Rural Development Programme expenditure 
			 £ million/pa 
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 England 214 288 411 489 
			 Scotland 12 137 98 165 
			 Wales 1 78 63 84 
			 NI 32 36 33 56 
			 Total 259 539 605 794 
		
	
	Only figures for 2007 onwards are provided as previous years were made under a separate EU fund and are not readily available. The figures have been established by converting EU amounts declared to the Commission at an average exchange rate for each EU financial year.

Animal Feed

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department has taken to increase the usage of permissible waste food products in animal feed by UK livestock farmers since March 2011.

James Paice: Certain waste retail and factory food (e.g. vegetables, bread, cakes, biscuits) can be fed to livestock if it comes from premises with appropriate separation procedures to prevent any contact with animal by-products such as meat and fish, and we have been working with supermarkets and feed businesses to ensure this can be done safely.
	However, under EU legislation, both ruminant and non-ruminant farm animals may not be fed catering waste. The practice of feeding catering waste to livestock was banned in the UK and then the rest of the EU following the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 2001. The ban stayed in place following a recent revision of the EU animal by-products regulations because it was recognised that the disease risks remain.
	The Government are keeping their position on feeding of catering waste under review, and further examination of the scientific evidence base is important to ensure that our policy is founded on strong evidence. DEFRA is currently funding a review of the available evidence on the benefits and risks of using food waste in animal feed. This desk-based study is being conducted by the Food and Environment Research Agency. We commissioned this study in May this year and it is due to report in May 2012.

Animal Welfare: Circuses

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to address any difficulties associated with the implementation of common animal welfare and public safety standards to a range of sites used by touring circuses in the UK.

James Paice: We are proposing to introduce a new licensing regime to promote animal welfare standards at those travelling circuses in England that use wild animal acts. It will be the responsibility of each circus to maintain those standards at each site it visits in England. Public safety standards are covered by other regulatory regimes.

Animal Welfare: Circuses

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with regard to her Department’s development of a licensing regime for the use of wild animals in circuses, whether she has received evidence to indicate that the welfare needs of wild animals can be met in a circus environment.

James Paice: Since the 2007 Radford report, which examined the available evidence then on the welfare of wild animals in travelling circuses, we have not seen any new scientific evidence that would support the argument that circuses, by their very nature, cannot meet the welfare needs of wild animals. The Radford report found that there was little evidence to demonstrate that the welfare of animals kept in travelling circuses is any better or worse than that of animals kept in other captive environments. As there are already licensing regimes in place that secure the welfare needs of the same species of animals in other captive environments, we are satisfied that it will be possible to introduce a set of enforceable welfare standards that will ensure that wild animals in travelling circuses are provided with an environment that provides for each animal’s welfare needs.

Animal Welfare: Circuses

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the consequences of the upholding of the ban on the use of wild animals in circuses by the Austrian Constitutional Court for her Department's progress towards the introduction of such a ban in the UK.

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the recent decision by the Austrian Constitutional Court, when she expects to make progress on banning of wild animals in circuses.

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East of 12 May 2011, Official Report, column 1348, on Animal welfare: circuses, what steps she plans to take following the ruling of the Austrian Constitutional Court on the use of wild animals in circuses.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the contribution by the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food of 23 June 2011, Official Report, column 581, whether she has received legal advice on a ban on wild animals in circuses following the ruling of the Austrian Constitutional Court of 1 December 2011; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The judgment of the Austrian Constitutional Court was published on 21 December 2011 and we are considering its relevance to the legal position here.

British Waterways: Pensions

Martin Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the current pension liability of British Waterways is; and whether it will be transferred to the Canal & River Trust.

Richard Benyon: The last triennial valuation of the British Waterways pension fund was carried out by the Scheme Actuary on 31 March 2010. The actuarial valuation of the British Waterways Pension Fund pension deficit was £65.6 million. No formal valuation has been prepared since March 2010, although estimated updates have been prepared by the Scheme Actuary for the pension fund trustees.
	The Government are negotiating a long-term funding agreement with the trustees of the Canal & River Trust (CRT). Those negotiations are considering a range of issues which could impact on funding to maintain the canal network, including future liabilities arising from CRT’s pension arrangements.
	The outcome of the negotiations will be announced before the Government lays the necessary order under the Public Bodies Act to transfer British Waterways’ functions to CRT.

Cattle: Transport

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the backlog of cattle movements following the introduction of the new Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency cattle movement computer system.

James Paice: The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratory Agency's (AHVLA) IT system (SAM) is used to record the location and disease status of livestock in Great Britain.
	SAM now enables the AHVLA to record information relating to TB testing. There were issues with the system that resulted in delays inputting TB test chart data in several regions and some TB reactor animals in the Midlands and South West Region not being removed within the 10 day target.
	The AHVLA has put in place measures to address this issue and is continuing to monitor the situation.

Common Agricultural Policy

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of proposed reform of the common agricultural policy on tenant farmers under the stewardship level schemes.

James Paice: At this early stage in the common agricultural policy reform negotiation process, it is not possible to assess with any degree of accuracy the likely impact on tenant farmers with Entry Level Stewardship agreements.
	I have however pledged to do everything possible to make sure farmers are not disadvantaged because they have been ahead of the game on environmental management (such as having an Entry Level Stewardship agreement). If changes do have to be made to these agreements, we will want to make sure that farmers will be able to opt out without penalty.

Co-operatives

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps (a) her Department and (b) those bodies for which her Department is responsible are taking to mark UN Year of the Co-operative 2012; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA currently has no plans for specific activities to mark the UN Year of the Co-operative.

Departmental Responsibilities

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to ensure social value is included when services are commissioned by (a) her Department and (b) its public bodies; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: UK public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money, which means the optimum combination of cost and quality over the lifetime of the project. Sustainability is achieved by using Government Buying Standards within tenders. These standards are developed on the basis of rigorous cost-benefit analysis and seek to deliver value for money over the lifetime of a product or service.
	Public sector procurers are required to assess value for money from the perspective of the contracting authority using criteria linked to the subject matter of the contract, including compliance with the published specification. Wider socio-economic benefits that do not accrue to the contracting authority cannot be taken into account at tender evaluation stage if they do not relate to the subject matter of a contract from the point of view of the contracting authority.

Dredging

Martin Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of dredging works which will not have been completed at the proposed time of transfer of British Waterways’ canals and rivers to the Canal & River Trust.

Richard Benyon: Dredging is an operational matter for British Waterways (BW) and it applies a risk-based prioritisation to its maintenance expenditure. The Government require BW to operate and maintain waterways to standards that reflect use and prospects of use.
	BW estimates that the cost of clearing the current backlog of dredging would be approximately £40 million. BW has not set a time scale for dealing with the dredging backlog because it is subject to BW’s need to prioritise expenditure on its major infrastructure assets and therefore it is not possible to confirm which dredging works will remain outstanding when the charity is vested. However, BW prioritises dredging at locations that cause particular boating constraints.
	Once BW’s assets and functions are transferred to the Canal & River Trust, it will be a matter for the trust to prioritise expenditure on the operation and maintenance of the waterways.

Flood and Water Management Act 2010

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to implement section 45 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

Richard Benyon: We will shortly be consulting on draft regulations specifying the details to be provided to the water and sewage undertakers under section 45 of the Act. We will also consult on an alternative, non-regulatory option. We will take appropriate next steps in response to the outcome of the consultation.

Water Charges: South West

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the autumn statement, from what source funding for the £50 discount to the annual water bill of each South West Water customer will be drawn; and by what mechanisms the funding will be disbursed.

Richard Benyon: In the autumn statement 2011, the Government announced:
	“Households in the South West face by far the highest water bills in the country. The Government has decided to fund South West Water to enable it to cut bills by £50 per year for all household customers.”
	Legislation will be required to enable Government to make the payment so this is subject to the necessary legislation passing through Parliament.
	The scheme will commence in 2013 and for the years 2013-14 and 2014-15 this will be funded by a call on the HM Treasury Reserve. After this spending review, from 2015-16 onwards, the payment will be funded through DEFRA's budget (the Departmental Expenditure Limit set by HM Treasury).
	DEFRA will make a payment to South West Water on the basis of a clear agreement that South West Water will reduce each household customer's bill by £50. The administration of the scheme will be undertaken by South West Water. This deduction will be shown in the customer's bill.

Water: Meters

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department has taken to ensure that water meters are produced to a satisfactory standard.

Richard Benyon: The water fittings regulations are national requirements for the design, installation and maintenance of plumbing systems, water fittings and water-using appliances. The Water Regulations Advisory Scheme aims to develop criteria for testing materials and fittings, to assess the results of the testing of materials and fittings, to determine their compliance with the regulations specifications, and to publish up-to-date lists of satisfactory materials and fittings in the scheme's water fittings and materials directory.

Water: Meters

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many complaints Ofwat has received on defective water meters.

Richard Benyon: Ofwat received 215 meter-related written inquiries and complaints between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011. Ofwat does not specifically record how many of its meter-related contacts relate to defective water meters.

Water: Meters

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to make providers responsible for the financial cost of replacing water meters.

Richard Benyon: Under the law, household customers currently have the right to opt to pay for their water on a metered basis and have a meter installed with no installation charge. If a meter is defective or reaches the end of its lifetime, the water company will replace or repair it with no cost to the individual customer.

Water: Meters

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to increase the number of water companies introducing compulsory meter programmes.

Richard Benyon: Under the law, household customers currently have the right to opt to pay for their water on a metered basis and have a meter installed with no installation charge. Their right to remain charged on an unmeasured basis (by rateable value) can be set aside and they can be compulsorily charged by a meter where the Secretary of State designates their water company area as one of “serious water stress” and where the company has included a programme of metering in their water resource management plan.
	The Secretary of State, after consulting the Environment Agency, can determine all or part of a water company's area to be an area of serious water stress, where the Secretary of State considers that:
	(a) the current household demand for water in that area is a high proportion of the current effective rainfall which is available to meet that demand; or
	(b) the future household demand for water in that area is likely to be a high proportion of the effective rainfall which is likely to be available to meet that demand.
	In 2007, the then Secretary of State designated some water company areas as being seriously water stressed. This means that if those companies include a programme of metering in their water resource management plan, they are able to roll out universal metering programmes. Currently, two companies in areas of serious water stress, Southern Water and South East Water, are doing so.
	During the next water resource management planning round the Government will reflect on the latest evidence to review the areas designated as water stressed.

Water: Meters

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on a national roll-out of smart water meters.

Richard Benyon: Most households in England and Wales are charged for water and sewerage on the basis of the rateable value of their home rather than the amount of water they use, with only 37% of households currently charged for their volumetric use. The Government recognise that metering can have advantages for customers and is a fair way of charging for water. It also provides a direct incentive to reduce water usage. However, the costs and benefits of increasing levels of water metering to help reduce demand will vary from region to region. Because of these complexities, the recently published Water White Paper, “Water for Life”, explained that the Government will not impose a blanket approach to metering across the country. We believe that water companies are best placed to find the appropriate local solution in discussion with their customers.
	The Government recognise that smart or intelligent water meters can offer further benefits for customers. Ofwat have established a Smart Metering Advisory Group which brings together the Government, industry and regulators. The group is exploring the business case for smart metering and an understanding of the potential benefits to customers. We will look to companies to demonstrate the business case for implementation with the agreement of their customers.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Times of Sittings

John Mann: To ask the Leader of the House what assessment he has made of the possible cost saving of bringing forward sittings of the House by two hours on each day.

George Young: I have made no such assessment. The main cost effects of any changes to sitting hours are likely to fall within the responsibilities of the House of Commons Commission and the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I look forward to considering the evidence received by the Procedure Committee during its current inquiry on sittings of the house and the parliamentary calendar on this and other matters, and to giving oral evidence to the committee in due course.

HOME DEPARTMENT

British Nationality: English Language

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the citizenship data tables in Immigration Statistics April-June 2011, table cz.09, on refusals of citizenship by reason, if she will give the details of the language threshold that those who were rejected for language reasons failed to obtain.

Damian Green: A person applying for naturalisation as a British citizen is required to have sufficient knowledge of language and of life in the United Kingdom. This can be demonstrated by either passing the Life in the UK Test, or by attending and making relevant progress on an English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL) course which uses the stipulated citizenship-based materials and which is delivered by an accredited institution.
	ESOL courses are normally taken by those whose English is at ESOL Entry Level two or below. The Life in the UK test is intended for those whose English is equivalent to or better than ESOL Entry Level three or above.

Departmental Apprentice

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much funding her Department allocated to sponsor apprenticeships in her Department in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and how much such funding she plans to allocate in 2012-13;
	(2)  how many apprentices were employed by her Department between (a) April 2010 and March 2011 and (b) April and December 2011; and how many apprenticeships her Department will sponsor between (i) January and March 2012 and (ii) April and March 2013.

Damian Green: No apprentices were recruited to the Department during the periods in question and therefore no funding was allocated to sponsor apprenticeships. Funding has not been specifically allocated for apprenticeships in 2012-13. The Department will, however, provide the necessary funding for apprentices as suitable opportunities to recruit them arise.
	Due to the recruitment freeze in the civil service, there has been limited opportunity to employ apprentices. None were externally recruited by the Department during the periods in question. The Department plans to introduce schemes when the freeze ends and make best use of apprenticeships as suitable opportunities arise.

Departmental Work Experience

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines her Department issues to its non-departmental public bodies on the employment of unpaid interns.

Damian Green: The Home Office has not issued guidelines to its non-departmental public bodies on the employment of unpaid interns.

Deportation

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were removed from the UK in each (a) week and (b) month in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The following table shows the total number of removals and voluntarily departures from the UK in each month from January 2007 to September 2011.
	
		
			 Monthly total removals and voluntary departures (1, 2) , January 2007 to September 2011 
			 Number of departures 
			  Grand total 
			 2007  
			 January 5,038 
			 February 4,782 
			 March 5,156 
			 April 4,765 
			 May 5,407 
			 June 5,220 
			 July 5,173 
			 August 5,517 
			 September 5,453 
			 October 5,433 
			 November 5,775 
			 December 5,648 
			 Total 2007 63,367 
			   
			 2008  
			 January 5,751 
			 February 5,334 
			 March 6,067 
			 April 5,234 
			 May 5,275 
			 June 5,422 
			 July 5,693 
			 August 5,852 
			 September 6,533 
			 October 5,582 
			 November 5,724 
			 December 5,514 
			 Total 2008 67,981 
			   
			 2009  
			 January 5,544 
			 February 5,133 
			 March 5,701 
			 April 5,285 
			 May 5,455 
			 June 5,604 
			 July 5,828 
			 August 5,769 
			 September 6,109 
			 October 5,695 
			 November 5,729 
			 December 5,362 
			 Total 2009 67,214 
			   
			 2010  
			 January(3) 5,429 
			 February(3) 5,237 
		
	
	
		
			 March(3) 5,349 
			 April(3) 4,404 
			 May(3) 5,355 
			 June(3) 5,185 
			 July(3) 5,052 
			 August(3) 5,117 
			 September(3) 5,092 
			 October(3) 4,904 
			 November(3) 5,113 
			 December(3) 4,007 
			 Total 2010(3) 60,244 
			   
			 2011  
			 January(3) 4,588 
			 February(3) 4,538 
			 March(3) 5,098 
			 April(3) 3,576 
			 May(3) 3,772 
			 June(3) 4,040 
			 July(3) 4,290 
			 August(3) 4,493 
			 September(3) 4,470 
			 January to September 2011(3) 38,865 
			 (1) Removals and voluntary departures recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken. (2) Includes enforced removals, persons departing voluntarily after notifying the UK Border Agency of their intention to leave prior to their departure, persons leaving under assisted voluntary return programmes run by Refugee Action from April 2011 (previously run by the International Organisation for Migration) and persons who it has been established left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (3) Provisional figures. Figures will under record due to data cleansing and data matching exercises that take place after the extracts are taken. 
		
	
	The available published data for removals from the UK are collated and verified monthly and not weekly. Therefore, only monthly figures are provided for the last five calendar years.
	The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of persons removed or departed voluntarily from the UK within Immigration Statistics. The data on removals and voluntary departures are available in the latest release, Immigration Statistics: July-September 2011, tables rv.01 to rv.08, from the Library of the House and from the Home Office science, research and statistics web pages at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/
	Data for October 2011 onwards are not yet available, but quarterly data for October to December 2011 will be published as part of the regular Home Office publication scheme on 23 February.

Detention Centres: Children

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women detained for immigration purposes in 2011 (a) had children living in the UK and (b) were separated from their children during their detention; and what arrangements there are for such separated children to maintain contact with their mothers.

Damian Green: The information sought is not recorded centrally by the UK Border Agency and can be obtained only through examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
	The UK Border Agency has a policy of not separating parents from children although it will sometimes have to deal with circumstances in which such a separation has already taken place. Separation is always in exceptional circumstances and only after full consideration has been given to possible alternatives. A key consideration is to ensure that no child is left unaccompanied by a responsible adult/carer.
	In cases where a parent detained in an immigration removal centre has a child in the community, the UK Border Agency will seek to facilitate contact between the parent and child, subject to the wishes of the family, and in liaison with the local authority where appropriate.

Detention Centres: Pregnant Women

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many pregnant women were detained for immigration purposes in 2011 for (a) up to six weeks, (b) more than six weeks and (c) more than three months;
	(2)  how many pregnant women detained for immigration purposes have been released in the late stages of pregnancy as a consequence of that pregnancy.

Damian Green: If a pregnant woman chooses to inform the UK Border Agency of her condition, the detail would be held on her medical file which is confidential between patient and doctor. The UK Border Agency does not hold such information centrally.
	The UK Border Agency's published guidance makes clear that pregnant women should not normally be detained. The exceptions to this general position are where removal is imminent and medical advice does not suggest confinement before the due removal date would be harmful or, for pregnant women of less than 24 weeks gestation, at Yarl's Wood as part of a fast-track asylum process.

Embassies: Tehran

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assistance is available to those who have submitted documentation to the British Embassy in Tehran to enable them to travel to the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: With the help of neighbouring German, Australian and Canadian missions, the vast majority of passports retrieved from the British Visa Section on 19 and 20 December have been returned to their holders.
	Those applications that had been refused in the processing hub in Abu Dhabi prior to the closure of the Visa Section in Tehran were informed of the decision when they collected their documents in Tehran from the neighbouring friendly mission.
	Those applicants who were granted visas but had not yet had the visa issued in Tehran were advised to bring their passports to Abu Dhabi for issue. Those who were refused in Abu Dhabi were sent a refusal notice by e-mail.
	Once clear which passports had been collected and which applicants did not wish to pursue their applications, consideration of outstanding applications began on 8 January. Applicants who are refused will have the refusal notice e-mailed to them. Applicants who are issued visas will be advised to travel to the UAE at their own cost to submit their passport for visa issuance.

EU Immigration

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the proposed directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on a single application procedure for a single permit for third-country nationals to reside and work in the territory of a member state and on a common set of rights for third-country workers legally residing in a member state; what legislative changes will be required to implement this directive; what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of implementing the directive; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The United Kingdom has not opted into this directive and is not therefore required to implement it.

European Commission: Legislation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the regulations her Department brought into force through (a) primary legislation, (b) secondary legislation and (c) other means originated from proposals by the European Commission in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

James Brokenshire: No provisions of Home Office primary legislation which was brought into force in 2010 or 2011 implemented EU measures originally proposed by the European Commission. Three statutory instruments entered into force in 2010, and two in 2011, as a result of the need to implement EU measures originally proposed by the European Commission. Administrative means were used once, in 2011.

Human Trafficking

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of country business plans in tackling human trafficking.

Damian Green: Country business plans cover financial years, April to March, and are formally reviewed at the mid-year point (October). Foreign Office posts in priority countries have been asked to ensure that the objectives of the human trafficking strategy are reflected in their business plans and work to do this is currently ongoing.

Human Trafficking: Sexual Offences

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reports she has received of (a) attempts by individuals to obtain protection money from women sex workers and (b) women sex workers being threatened with (i) eviction from their premises and (ii) arrest on the grounds that they were working from a brothel.

Lynne Featherstone: No such reports have been received. We are committed to tackling the harm and exploitation that can be associated with prostitution. Controlling prostitution for gain and blackmail are serious offences to which the police are best placed to respond to at a local level.
	The Home Office recently published a Review of Effective Practice in Responding to Prostitution, developed in consultation with the police and partners who support people involved in prostitution. The effective practice is designed to empower local authorities and partners to develop effective local responses to issues related to prostitution, including improving the safety of prostitutes and their confidence to report crimes to the police.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints there were to the Independent Police Complaints Commission in 2011, by constabulary.

Nick Herbert: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is responsible for the publication of annual statistics relating to complaints about the police in England and Wales. The 2010-11 report was published in December 2011 and is available on the IPCC website. Since April 2009, the IPCC has collected data from police forces every quarter and publishes quarterly force bulletins. These can also be found on the IPCC website at:
	www.ipcc.gov.uk

Independent Police Complaints Commission

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will consider replacing the Independent Police Complaints Commission with a new independent oversight body.

Nick Herbert: The Government have no plans to replace the Independent Police Complaints Commission with a new independent oversight body.

Members: Correspondence

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to question (a) 79849, (b) 79886, (c) 79887, (d) 79888 and (e) 79889 tabled on 7 November for answer on 11 November.

Damian Green: holding answer 24 November 201 1 
	I refer the hon. Member to my answers of (a) 12 December 2011, Official Report, column 608W, (b) 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 157W, (c) 12 December 2011, Official Report, column 610W, (d) 12 December 2011, Official Report, column 609W, and (e) 12 December 2011, Official Report, column 610W.

Stephen Lawrence

Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with Scotland Yard on lessons learnt from the investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

Nick Herbert: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has acknowledged publicly its failings in the original investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence and has been learning lessons from it for a number of years, particularly since Lord Macpherson's report of 1999. That report led the MPS to change fundamentally its approach to the investigation of murders. The force is to be commended on its continued commitment to investigating the Stephen Lawrence case and on the recent successful prosecution of two people found guilty of his murder. Home Office Ministers and officials will encourage and work with the MPS and other forces, in order to learn any lessons that this recent successful prosecution has for other cases.

Telecommunications: Databases

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on the Government's commitment in section 3 of the Coalition Agreement to end the storage of internet and email records without good reason.

James Brokenshire: The Strategic Defence and Security Review assessed that communications data and lawful interception capabilities are vital for counter-terrorism and fighting serious organised crime. It highlighted the importance of preserving the capabilities of law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies as technology changes. The Government will legislate to ensure the maintenance of these capabilities; this will be compatible with the Government's approach to civil liberties. The Home Office Structural Reform Plan committed to publish proposals for the storage of internet and email records. Details will be announced in due course.

UK Border Agency: Sick Leave

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the level of sickness absence was for UK Border Agency staff at each airport in the last year.

Damian Green: For operational and security reasons the UK Border Force only publishes resource data at a regional level.
	For the period of 1 January to 31 December 2011, the average number of working days lost due to sickness was 7.61 days per employee for Border Force airports. This figure includes long-term sickness.

TRANSPORT

A1

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the National Infrastructure Plan, what the total planned public expenditure on the granted development consent to a scheme to improve the A1 at Elkesley is in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15, (e) 2015-16 and (f) 2016-17; and what the estimated date of completion is of the project.

Norman Baker: The following table shows the total planned public expenditure on the granted development consent to a scheme to improve the A1 at Elkesley. These figures include Nottinghamshire county council's contribution of £250,000 in 2012-13.
	
		
			 £ 
			 Financial year Actuals Forecast Total 
			 2011-12 140,710.00 85,000.00 225,710.00 
			 2012-13 — 1,916,722.23 1,916,722.23 
			 2013-14 — 5,787,998.28 5,787,998.28 
			 2014-15 — 1,212,004.65 1,212,004.65 
			 2015-16 — 5,000.00 5,000.00 
			 2016-17 — 5,000.00 5,000.00 
			 Total 140,710.00 9,011,725.16 9,152,435.16 
		
	
	The estimated completion date is late 2014.

A64

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will designate work to upgrade the A64 between Scarborough, Malton and York as a major infrastructure project qualifying as one of the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s growth and job creation projects.

Michael Penning: The autumn statement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), on 29 November 2011, Official Report, columns 799-810, identified two current Highways Agency major road schemes which will see their delivery accelerated, and a further six schemes which will be brought forward for delivery in this spending review period.
	These schemes were all selected because they are able to be accelerated to start construction and make significant progress in the next three years, and will therefore make the earliest possible contribution to stimulating economic growth.
	Proposals to improve the A64 from York to Scarborough had previously not been prioritised as part of the regional funding allocation process; therefore the Department did not have a scheme to consider for accelerated delivery in this spending review period as part of the Growth Review.

A64

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had with local businesses along the route of the A64 between Scarborough, Malton and York on the cost and disruption caused to businesses of congestion on the road.

Michael Penning: The Highways Agency, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), has not held any recent discussions with local businesses along the route of the A64 between Scarborough and York with regard to any associated disruption caused by congestion on the strategic road network.
	The agency continues, through daily operation and maintenance of the network, and future strategic network planning, to promote economic and social growth aspirations along the A64 while actively aiming to improve journey time reliability and reduce congestion.

A64

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the effect of the congestion on the A64 on the local economy; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The Highways Agency, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), has not made any assessment of the impact on the local economy due to congestion on the A64.
	An A64 Connectivity Study was commissioned by North Yorkshire county council in partnership with other stakeholders, including the Highways Agency, and published in 2011. The study identifies a range of short, medium and long-term interventions to meet the strategic transport needs of the area reflecting the wider economic, social and environmental policies that underpin planned growth to 2026.
	The study considered that improved connectivity, especially better journey time reliability, on the A64 corridor would have positive economic impacts. On the A64 congestion is largely attributable to incidents which impact journey time reliability. The agency is working to both reduce the number of incidents on the network, and where incidents do occur, working closely with the police, fire and rescue and other emergency services to clear up the incidents and open the road as quickly as possible.
	The A64 Connectivity Study is being used by the agency to inform further studies and future potential schemes on the A64 specifically focused on improving journey time reliability, maintaining a safe road network and ensuring that its customers remain well informed.

Aviation: Exhaust Emissions

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the likelihood of securing an agreement at global level through the International Civil Aviation Organisation on a global emissions trading scheme to address international aviation emissions.

Theresa Villiers: The UK government remains committed to addressing emissions from international aviation and believes that the most effective way of doing this is through a binding global agreement supported by market-based measures.
	Limited progress has been made in recent years towards securing an agreement on a global emissions trading scheme. The UK remains hopeful that an agreement will be reached and we will continue to push for this in international fora such as the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
	In the meantime and in the absence of a global system, the UK supports the inclusion of aviation in the European Union Emissions Trading system which came into effect on 1 January 2012.

Aviation: Fuels

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the level of fuel wastage caused by planes circling (a) Luton, (b) Gatwick, (c) Stansted, (d) Bristol, (e) Heathrow, (f) Manchester, (g) Southampton, (h) London City, (i) Cardiff and (j) Exeter airport.

Theresa Villiers: The Government have not made any such estimates.
	NATS, the UK's en-route air traffic service provider, may be able to provide some relevant information. Its contact address is: The Chief Executive, NATS, 4000 Parkway, Whiteley, Fareham, Hants P015 7FL.

Aviation: Mergers

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the (a) domestic and (b) European regulatory regimes in ensuring consideration is given to the effect on routes of airline mergers and takeovers.

Theresa Villiers: None. Mergers are regulated on the basis of whether or not they substantially lessen competition in markets. This test is applied in all mergers by the independent competition authorities, who have discretion to include any relevant criteria appropriate to determine whether or not a merger substantially lessens competition. Previous merger investigations in the airline sector by both the UK and EU competition authorities have considered effects on airline routes.

Aviation: Scotland

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department has assessed any change in prices for flights between Glasgow and Heathrow since British Airways became the only airline servicing the route.

Theresa Villiers: No such assessment has been made.

Aviation: Scotland

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have flown between London airports other than Heathrow and (a) Edinburgh, (b) Glasgow and (c) Aberdeen in each of the last three years.

Theresa Villiers: The figures requested are given in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of passengers flying between Gatwick, London City, Luton or Stansted and s elected Scottish airports, 2008- 10 
			 Million 
			  2008 2009 2010 
			 Aberdeen 0.3 0.3 0.3 
			 Edinburgh 1.8 1.7 1.5 
			 Glasgow 1.3 1.3 1.1 
			 Prestwick 0.4 0.3 0.2 
			 Total 3.9 3.5 3.1

BMI

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the proposed sale of BMI to International Airlines Group on aviation links between Scotland and London;
	(2)  what discussions she has had with the Scottish Government on future aviation links between Scotland and London following the proposed sale of BMI to International Airlines Group.

Theresa Villiers: I would refer the hon. Member to my written answer given on 28 November 2011, Official Report, column 647W, to the hon. Member for Midlothian (Mr Hamilton) and the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim Fitzpatrick) in relation to the proposed sale of the airline BMI, and to my written answer given on 1 December 2011, Official Report, column 1019W, again to the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse, in relation to aviation links between Scotland and London airports.

Bus Services: Disability

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she plans to take to increase access to bus services for disabled people (a) nationally and (b) in Coventry.

Norman Baker: holding answer 12 January 2012
	The Department for Transport continues to work to improve physical accessibility to public transport. The Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR) require all new buses and coaches used to provide local or scheduled services and designed to carry more than 22 passengers to be accessible to disabled passengers.
	All existing buses and coaches used to provide local or scheduled services will have to comply with PSVAR by end dates between 2015 and 2020, depending on vehicle type. At March 2011, 60% of all buses in Great Britain met the PSVAR requirements.
	The Government are also committed to protecting the concessionary bus travel scheme, allowing free off-peak travel anywhere in England for older and eligible disabled passengers.

Cycling: Accidents

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many children were (a) killed and (b) injured while riding a bicycle in the last year for which figures are available.

Michael Penning: The information is available in table RAS30002 of “Reported Road Casualties in Great Britain: Main Results 2010” which has been published on the Department's website at:
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/statistics/tables/ras30002.xls

Debt Collection

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times her Department has used the services of debt recovery companies since May 2010; which companies were used; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: DfT(c), GCDA, MCA, VCA and VOSA have not used the services of a debt recovery company since May 2010.
	The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has used the services of Optima Legal Services twice since May 2010.
	Since May 2010 the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has used both Intercredit International Ltd and Philips Collection Services Ltd to collect continuous registration penalties on behalf of the agency. Around 30,000 cases are referred each month.
	The Highways Agency has used the services of Effective Credit Collections Ltd since May 2010, on one occasion.

Departmental Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many apprentices were employed by each public body for which her Department is responsible between (a) April 2010 and March 2011 and (b) April and December 2011; and how many apprenticeships she expects each public body to sponsor between (i) January and March 2012 and (ii) April 2012 and March 2013.

Norman Baker: This Department employed apprentices in one public body, Trinity House Lighthouse Service, who employed three apprentices between April 2010 and March 2011 and April 2011 and December 2011. Three apprentices are expected to be employed between January 2012 to March 2012 and April 2012 to March 2013. Salaries were paid out of the General Lighthouse Fund.

Departmental Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to sponsor apprenticeships in each of the public bodies for which her Department is responsible between (a) April 2010 and March 2011, (b) April 2011 and March 2012 and (c) April 2012 and March 2013.

Norman Baker: There has been no funding from the public purse allocated to sponsor apprenticeships in public bodies which this Department is responsible for.

Departmental Equality

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what equality impact assessments her Department has carried out since May 2010; and for what purpose in each case.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport considers equality issues in exercising its functions, both to comply with equality legislation and to ensure it understands how its activities will affect different people. It provides information about this consideration in various ways. In the specified period, this information was sometimes published in the form of an equality impact assessment, although there is no legal requirement to produce such a document.
	Over 50 equality impact assessments have been carried out across the Department and its agencies since May 2010. These are available on the Department's website at:
	www.dft.gov.uk

Departmental Food

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department spent on food purchased through its food and catering services in the last 12 month period for which information is available.

Norman Baker: I regret that this information is not centrally recorded in all areas of this Department, and so no meaningful figure is available.

Departmental Manpower

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many speechwriters her Department employs at each pay grade.

Norman Baker: The central Department for Transport currently employs two civil servants (DFT Pay Band 7 and 6) to write speeches and articles for the four DFT Ministers.
	As well as the two dedicated speechwriters within the Communication Directorate, policy officials occasionally draft or contribute to ministerial speeches, particularly parliamentary speeches. The Department's special advisers may also contribute to speeches when required. And naturally, Ministers produce much of the material themselves.
	None of DFT's seven Executive Agencies employ speechwriters.

Departmental Recruitment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department spent on recruitment agencies in each month since September 2011.

Norman Baker: The central Department and its seven Executive agencies have not engaged recruitment agencies since May 2010. All recruitment is handled by an internal centralised resource.

Departmental Redundancy

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much redundancy pay was paid to civil servants in her Department in each month between September and November 2011.

Norman Baker: The amount of redundancy pay paid to civil servants in the Department for Transport in the month of September, October and November 2011 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Cost (£) 
			 Business unit September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 
			 Department for Transport (Centre) 825,889 32,021 0 
			 Driving Standards Agency 75,946 103,867 0 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 0 5,731 12,464 
		
	
	The remaining DFT agencies have not made redundancy payments in the above periods.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many temporary staff were recruited to her Department between September and November 2011.

Norman Baker: The central Department and its seven Executive agencies have recruited 28 temporary staff between September and November 2011.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she plans to take to ensure that the effectiveness of the enforcement activities of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will not be reduced as a result of her Department's proposals for the centralisation of DVLA services.

Michael Penning: DVLA has a clear commitment to ensure that enforcement activities remain at their present level of effectiveness. DVLA will work with stakeholders to fully understand potential impacts and how these can be effectively managed if the proposals are taken forward.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the potential effect of proposals to close Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency regional enforcement offices on levels of unemployment in (a) Glasgow, (b) Scotland and (c) the UK.

Michael Penning: No specific assessment has been completed. I can add that no decision about closure has yet been made. The results of the current consultation will be used to inform work looking at changes to DVLA services including the potential closure of local offices. This process will include an economic assessment as well as work to avoid or reduce redundancies and mitigate the consequences of any that are necessary.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she plans to publish the result of the Government's consultation entitled Transforming DVLA Services.

Michael Penning: We aim to publish a summary of responses and announce our future plans as soon as possible after the consultation has closed. Although this is dependent on the number of responses received and the analysis required.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of providing front office counter services through intermediaries as part of her proposals to centralise Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency services.

Michael Penning: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency already has a contract in place with an intermediary to provide vehicle re-licensing and some driver licensing services. This contract, currently valued at £41 million per annum, is held by the Post Office and has been in place since 1 April 2007. It will come to an end in March 2013. DVLA is currently engaged in an EU compliant commercial procurement for a range of Front Office Counter Services to replace it. The value of the new contract will ultimately be determined through the procurement and negotiation process.
	We are extending the scope of the current contract in a number of ways to provide more secure and convenient services to the public in the future. For vehicle licensing services, these extensions have been accorded with initial cost estimates of around £4 million for joint development and then running costs of just over £1 million a year, although these will of course be subject to refinement and downwards competitive pressure through the procurement and negotiation processes.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will publish the figures her Department used to calculate the estimated savings to the public purse from centralising Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency services.

Michael Penning: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has estimated annual savings to the public purse of £28 million commencing in the financial year 2014-15. The following table shows how the estimated savings have been calculated:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 Total benefits 39.3 
			 Staffing 28.7 
			 Accommodation 8.9 
			 IT maintenance 0.5 
			 Travel and subsistence 1.2 
			   
			 Costs 11.0 
			 Staffing 8.6 
			 Intermediaries 2.3 
			 IT maintenance 0.1 
			   
			 Net savings 28 3 
		
	
	These estimates are high level and have been based on a number of assumptions. These estimates will change and be refined as decisions are made following the conclusion of the public consultation.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the likely effect of proposals to close DVLA regional offices on the economy of (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

Michael Penning: No specific assessment has been completed. I can add that no decisions about closure have yet been made. The results of the current consultation will be used to inform work looking at changes to DVLA services including the potential closure of local offices. Economic impacts will be considered as part of this process.

Driving Under Influence: Rehabilitation

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2011, Official Report, column 1004W, on driving under influence: rehabilitation, what evidence her Department used to support its proposals on new arrangements for drink drive rehabilitation courses.

Michael Penning: We have drawn on a variety of sources of evidence to support our proposals on new arrangements for drink drive rehabilitation courses. The principle driver for change came from the findings of the Transport Research Laboratory report (No. 613, 2004) referred to in paragraphs 18, 19 and 20 of the Driving Standards Agency's consultation paper ‘New approval arrangements for drink-drive rehabilitation courses’ of 9 November 2011.
	The proposals were also based on independent audits commissioned by the Department for Transport throughout 2007-09 (referenced in the DSA consultation mentioned above, at Annex A para 10).

Driving: Disability

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she intends to amend the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1997 following changes to disability living allowance to ensure that people with major mobility issues can drive from the age of 16 years.

Michael Penning: The Department for Work and Pensions are introducing changes to disability living allowance (DLA) as part of the Welfare Reform Bill. The intention is to replace DLA with a new cash benefit called the personal independence payment (PIP). Replacing DLA with PIP will require a change in driving licence legislation to allow people with major mobility issues to still be eligible to apply for a driving licence to drive a car at the age of 16. The necessary legislative change is currently being taken forward and will be aligned to the DWP introduction date for PIP.

Driving: Eye Sight

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she is taking to ensure that Group 2 drivers meet the minimum visual requirements set out in EU directives 2006/126/EC and 2009/113/EC.

Michael Penning: Directive 2006/126/EEC was adopted in December 2006; its provisions will take effect on 19 January 2013. Directive 2009/113/EC amends this directive.
	Group 2 drivers are currently required to have a medical examination, which includes an eye test, at first licence application, at the age of 45 and every five years until age the age of 65 when annual medicals are needed. They are also required by law to advise DVLA if they are unable to meet the required medical standards (including the minimum visual requirements) at any time.
	From 19 January 2013 Group 2 drivers will still have to undergo a medical examination when they first apply for this entitlement. Licences will have an administrative validity period of five years.
	This will mean that they will expire every five years from first application to age 45. A self-declaration of continuing compliance with the minimum medical standards for driving, including appropriate vision, will be required on each five year renewal. The arrangements from 45 onwards will remain unchanged.

EU Law

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the regulations her Department brought into force through (a) primary legislation, (b) secondary legislation and (c) other means originated from proposals by the European Commission in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

Norman Baker: No primary legislation that implements proposals by the European Commission was brought forward by this Department in either 2010 or 2011.
	In 2010, 25 pieces of secondary legislation transposed EU obligations. In 2011, 28 pieces of secondary legislation transposed EU obligations.
	Some EU obligations are implemented by administrative measures and it is assumed that these are the other means on which information is sought. That information could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Heathrow Airport

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions her Department has had with Airport Coordination Ltd on changing the way take-off and landing slots at Heathrow airport are used by airlines to reduce congestion.

Theresa Villiers: The allocation of slots at Heathrow is governed by EU Law. The EU Slot Regulation includes a requirement for member states to ensure that independent airport slot co-ordinators are appointed to manage slot allocation at congested airports. Airport Co-ordination Ltd is the UK's independent co-ordinator.
	The European Commission published its "Better Airports Package" on 30 November 2011, which includes a range of legislative proposals, including proposals to amend the EU Slot Regulation, which are intended to help boost capacity, reduce delays and promote quality at Europe's airports. The Department will be engaging with a range of stakeholders as these proposals are developed.

Heathrow Airport

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department has assessed the environment impact of aeroplanes circling Heathrow while awaiting a landing slot.

Theresa Villiers: The Government have not undertaken any such assessment, but we support the Civil Aviation Authority's Future Airspace Strategy which aims to minimise significantly the need for aircraft to wait before landing at London's major airports.

Heathrow Airport

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department has estimated the average time an aircraft will circle Heathrow while awaiting a landing slot.

Theresa Villiers: According to NATS, the UK's en-route air traffic service provider, 53% of arrivals into Heathrow in 2010 were subject to holding with an average hold time per aircraft held of 8.3 minutes.

Level Crossings

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will request Network Rail to publish all risk assessments in respect of level crossings; and what assessment she made of the level of transparency in the availability of such information.

Theresa Villiers: Risk assessments at level crossings are undertaken by Network Rail in order to satisfy their legal duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. That Act requires duty holders to record the significant findings of risk assessments and reduce risks so far as is reasonably practicable. Legislative standards also ensure that the risk assessment process is sufficient and suitable.
	There is currently no legal obligation to publish those risk assessments but they are available for consideration by the Office of Rail Regulation.
	However, Network Rail is currently revising their risk assessment process for level crossings. Their intention is that future process takes a more collaborative approach to risk assessment with assistance provided by local stakeholders such as the relevant local authorities, level crossing users and train operators. Network Rail will also consider requests on a case by case basis for access to existing risk assessments.
	Network Rail is a private sector company and the Government’s policy is to resist the expansion of burdens on companies. On this basis, we do not intend to request that Network Rail publishes all level crossing risk assessments. The Government welcome the fact, however, that Network Rail is taking steps to enhance their own transparency and is developing a voluntary publication scheme.

Level Crossings

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment her Department has made of recent trends in the use by Network Rail of remote-controlled level crossings; what safety risk assessment has been undertaken on such crossings; and if she will assess any effects of such crossings on the level of pedestrian injuries.

Theresa Villiers: The Department has made no assessment of these issues. In the first instance, risk assessment and the reduction of risks at level crossings so far as is reasonably practicable is a matter for the relevant duty holder. As such, the risk assessment process and determination of appropriate safety measures to be put in place, including equipment type, is an operational safety matter for Network Rail.
	The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) monitors that Network Rail is meeting their health and safety duties at level crossings. The ORR, where it administers level crossing orders on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), may also contribute to the risk assessment of the type of equipment deployed at a specific location including remote-controlled (CCTV) type crossings.
	CCTV controlled crossings are one of the safest crossing types in use and a breakdown of level crossing safety by crossing type, and user can be found in the RSSB Annual Safety Performance Report 2010/11, available at:
	http://www.rssb.co.uk/SPR/REPORTS/Pages/AnnualSafetyPerformanceReport201011.aspx
	The UK has one of the best level crossing records in Europe. A significant proportion of risk in this context results from public behaviour. Network Rail and the British Transport police have various programmes aimed at addressing this problem.

M6

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions her Department has had with the M6 Toll Company on providing a direct link from the M54 to the toll road and the M6 northbound at no cost to the public purse.

Michael Penning: The statement of the then Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), on 26 October 2010, Official Report, columns 177-179, “Investment in Highways and Local Transport Schemes” identified the M54/M6/M6 Toll Link road scheme as a ‘future scheme’ for potential construction in future spending review periods and as one of four schemes to be reviewed by the Highways Agency.
	In conducting the review the Agency has looked again at the scheme options currently under consideration to ensure these remain the most appropriate. The business case for the scheme has also been revisited to ensure that it is as up to date as possible.
	As part of the review a meeting was held between Department for Transport Officials and a representative of Midland Expressway Limited, the M6 Toll company, to discuss the scheme options for an M54/M6/M6 Toll Link Road and how these might be taken forward under an agreement made in 2006 between Macquarie European Infrastructure Limited and the Secretary of State for Transport.
	Informed by the review, the Department for Transport is currently considering the allocation of development funding for the 'future schemes'. This would see investment in a small number of schemes to progress pre-construction work and thereby maintain a pipeline of major investment in the strategic road network. Any announcements will be made in due course.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she plans to respond to the letters from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay of (a) 13 October and (b) 23 November 2011 regarding a constituent, Mr L Russell.

Norman Baker: holding answer 12 January 2012
	I have now replied to my hon. Friend's letter, actually dated 11 October 2011. I am sorry that administrative pressures within the Department have delayed this reply until now. Ministers aim to reply speedily to correspondence and I have drawn the pressures within the system to the attention of the Permanent Secretary.
	Unfortunately we have no records of receipt of the letter dated 23 November 2011. If the issues within this letter are not addressed by my response to your earlier letter please feel free to contact me direct.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) motorcycles, (b) motor cars and (c) commercial vehicles were submitted for an MOT test in (i) the UK, (ii) England, (iii) Yorkshire and the Humber and (iv) City of York in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and how many vehicles failed the test in each case.

Michael Penning: The number of MOT tests undertaken by test class and number of failures in (i) Great Britain, (ii) England, (iii) Yorkshire and the Humber and (iv) City of York unitary authority during the calendar year 2010 are given in the following table:
	
		
			  Tests undertaken Fails 
			 (i) Great Britain   
			 Motorcycles 964,600 123,752 
			 Classes 3 and 4: Cars , vans and passenger vehicles with up to 12 seats 26,421,628 8,037,505 
			 Private passenger vehicles with more than 12 seats 49,045 13,539 
			 Goods vehicles between 3,000 and non-testable vehicles include mobile cranes, diggers and non-HGV trailers. Excludes emissions-only checks. 589,261 239,613 
			    
			 (ii) England   
			 Motorcycles 862,117 110,254 
			 Classes 3 and 4: Cars , vans and passenger vehicles with up to 12 seats 22,881,777 6,803,314 
			 Private passenger vehicles with more than 12 seats 41,393 11,332 
			 Goods vehicles between 3,000 and non-testable vehicles include mobile cranes, diggers and non-HGV trailers. Excludes emissions-only checks. 511,400 205,005 
			    
			 (iii) Yorkshire and the Humber   
			 Motorcycles 83,841 9,787 
			 Classes 3 and 4: Cars , vans and passenger vehicles with up to 12 seats 2,155,793 712,357 
			 Private passenger vehicles with more than 12 seats 5,037 2,519 
			 Goods vehicles between 3,000 and non-testable vehicles include mobile cranes, diggers and non-HGV trailers. Excludes emissions-only checks. 52,114 23,867 
			    
			 (iv) City of York UA   
			 Motorcycles 5,103 515 
			 Classes 3 and 4: Cars , vans and passenger vehicles with up to 12 seats 80,269 24,479 
			 Private passenger vehicles with more than 12 seats 98 41 
			 Goods vehicles between 3,000 and non-testable vehicles include mobile cranes, diggers and non-HGV trailers. Excludes emissions-only checks. 1,641 620 
		
	
	MOT test results for Northern Ireland are not held by the Department.
	MOT data are available in raw format from:
	www.data.gov.uk

Motorcycles: EU Law

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information her Department holds on the EU member states where the wearing of motorcycle helmets is compulsory for users of motorbikes and mopeds.

Michael Penning: The Department does not keep detailed information on this. Many, if not all, EU countries do require helmets to be worn by motorcyclists, but some allow more flexibility for moped riders.

Motorways: Safety

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the criteria are which determine whether footbridges over motorways are covered for the purpose of preventing objects being thrown from them onto vehicles travelling on the motorway.

Michael Penning: The Highways Agency has published criteria for protection to be provided on the edge of new footbridges over motorways and they are described in Standard TD19/06—‘Requirements for Road Restraint Systems’ and in Standard BD 29/04—‘Design Criteria for Footbridges’. These standards are publically available through the agency's website.
	TD19/06 covers the criteria for the height and form of the parapet protection that must be provided along the edge of a footbridge, and is governed by the nature of the intended lawful use of the bridge, and whether it carries a footway, cycleway or bridleway. Where a new footbridge is being proposed, designers must consider and balance a range of issues such as cost, accessibility, safety and appearance, in developing the form and layout of the structure to encourage greater use and appreciation by the public.
	Designers of new footbridges would need to consider risks and the potential for unlawful activities such as throwing objects on to passing vehicles. In such circumstances where there is an established high risk, BD 29/04 suggests that full or partial enclosures of the bridge may be considered. For existing footbridges a range of factors would be considered, some of which are covered in BD29/04.
	The prevention of unlawful activities such as objects thrown from bridges is a policing matter. However, where there are significant risks or a high number of incidents at a particular location on the strategic road network in England, the Highways Agency has worked closely with the police, local community and other partners, and in the past has prepared educational packs which have proved to be effective. The Highways Agency has also arranged for visits to be made to schools and community groups to educate younger people as to the dangers and consequences of objects being thrown onto roads, and to prevent these incidents recurring.

Northern Line: Expenditure

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the National Infrastructure Plan, what the total planned public expenditure on the extension of the Northern line to Battersea is in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15, (e) 2015-16 and (f) 2016-17; and what the estimated date of completion is of the project.

Theresa Villiers: The Government announced their support for the extension of the Northern line to Battersea on 29 November 2011, subject to commitment by April 2013 from a developer to contribute to and develop the site. If an agreement is reached, the Government will consider allowing local borrowing against future receipts of community infrastructure levy (CIL) to support the extension. Given the commercial sensitivity of such an agreement, it would be inappropriate to pre-empt it with a detailed breakdown.
	The final timetable of the extension of the Northern line to Battersea is contingent on a successful Transport Works Act Order application to the Department for Transport. Transport for London is planning to submit an application in 2012.

Parking: Fees and Charges

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2011, Official Report, column 497W, on parking: fees and charges, whether privately operated car parks are governed by any statutory provisions; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: There is no statutory regulation relating specifically to private car parks. Private landowners are entitled to make such conditions for the use of their land as they see fit. However, consumer protection legislation exists to protect consumers from misleading information and unfair contract terms. For example, where signs for motorists in a car park are misleading, or other misleading or deceptive information is given (for example, tickets which look like local authority tickets) there may be a breach of the consumer protection legislation. Local authority trading standards services and the Office of Fair Trading can take enforcement action.
	In the absence of a clear indication that a private landowner is content for parking to take place on his/her/its land, motorists should not park on it to avoid any risk of trespassing.

Piers: Redcar and Cleveland

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will provide funding for an additional traditional pier in Redcar and Cleveland.

Norman Baker: We have not received a funding request for a traditional pier in Redcar and Cleveland and, taken at face value, it seems unlikely a project of this nature would meet transport objectives and provide value for money under a transport appraisal.

Railways

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which rail companies have been provided with permanent access passes to her Department; and what the pass allocation is in each case. [R]

Norman Baker: holding answer 12 January 2012
	Five passes have been issued to Directly Operated Railways Ltd which is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Transport.

Regional Airports

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department plans to take to support regional airports; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: We recognise the vital contributions regional airports make to local economies. The Government are currently developing a sustainable framework for UK aviation, which we will publish for consultation in spring 2012.

River Thames: Bridges

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the National Infrastructure Plan, what the total planned public expenditure on the extension of the new crossing across the Lower Thames is in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15, (e) 2015-16 and (f) 2016-17; and what the estimated date of completion is of the project.

Michael Penning: It is too early to specify total planned public expenditure for the development of a new Lower Thames crossing. Our intention is that the new crossing should be privately financed. However we accept the need to incur some public expenditure in preparatory work, including the analysis required to review the location options. The cost of the review could be confirmed once procurement of it has concluded.

Roads: Safety

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance she gives utility companies on the manner in which they leave the public highway after completing works.

Norman Baker: The Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highways is a statutory Code of Practice which sets out the relevant standards. Compliance with the Specification is a requirement under section 71 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. In respect of England, the most recent (third) edition of the Specification came into operation on 1 October 2010.

Shipping: Oil

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will review the level of liaison between relevant devolved authorities on the environmental effects arising from the recent transfer of oil between two cargo ships off the County Down coast for the purposes of preventing a similar problem from occurring in the future.

Michael Penning: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) will shortly commence a review of the UK's National Contingency Plan (NCP) for Marine Pollution from Shipping and Offshore Installations. This periodic review will involve full consultation with UK interested parties, and will take account of lessons learnt from previous incidents in the UK and elsewhere. I have asked the MCA to take account of lessons learned from the forthcoming operational de-brief into the Genmar Companion incident.

Swanley Railway Station

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date Swanley railway station was designated as the travel gateway for the 2012 Paralympic road cycling event at Brands Hatch.

Theresa Villiers: Brands Hatch was the last London 2012 venue to be announced in May 2011. As a result, transport plans and related publicity are only now being finalised.
	In the preliminary planning stages for spectator transport service design, Swanley was seen as a preferred venue rail station. Earlier publications including a press release in July 2011 announcing the Swanley improvement programme made reference to this.

Swanley Railway Station

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Network Rail had discussions with the Olympic Delivery Authority prior to 1 January 2012 on the need to complete the improvements to Swanley railway station in time for the 2012 Paralympic road cycling event at Brands Hatch.

Theresa Villiers: The Olympic Delivery Authority continues to take a close interest in the development of all transport infrastructure works associated with London 2012, and has regularly discussed Swanley station with Network Rail. The initial development works undertaken for the scheme indicated a completion date of 15 August 2012.
	Given the associated delivery risk with this date, a decision has been made to switch the venue station from Swanley to Sevenoaks, which already has step free access and excellent transport links.

Swanley Railway Station

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the improvements at Swanley railway station (a) were originally scheduled to (i) begin and (ii) be completed, (b) began and (c) are now expected to be completed.

Norman Baker: Works at Swanley station under the Access for All and National Stations Improvement programmes are due to start on site in July 2012 and be completed by April 2013. To allow the station to be used by spectators for the Paralympics, the work has been brought forward and will start in April this year and are due to be complete by the end of July this year.

Transport: Merseyside

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the National Infrastructure Plan, what the total planned public expenditure on the expansion of the Mersey Multimodal Gateway 3MG Logistics Park is in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15, (e) 2015-16 and (f) 2016-17; and what the estimated date of completion is of the project.

Norman Baker: The Mersey Multimodal Gateway 3MG Logistics Park was allocated £9 million from Round 1 of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) in April 2011. The planned expenditure for the project is:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2011-12 3 
			 2012-13 3 
			 2013-14 3 
		
	
	The project is due to be completed in 2014, as set out in the contractual arrangements included in the grant offer.

Transport: Planned Public Expenditure

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the National Infrastructure Plan, 
	(1)  what the total planned public expenditure on the Western Gateway Enabling scheme at Port Salford is in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15, (e) 2015-16 and (f) 2016-17; and what the estimated date of completion is of the project;
	(2)  what the total planned public expenditure on the project to improve Junction 10A of the M1 motorway is in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15, (e) 2015-16 and (f) 2016-17; and what the estimated date of completion is of the project;
	(3)  what the total planned public expenditure on reinstating the Todmorden Curve is in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15, (e) 2015-16 and (f) 2016-17; and what the estimated date of completion is of the project;
	(4)  what the total planned public expenditure on the A45 Corridor (Damson Parkway to M42 Junction 6) is in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15, (e) 2015-16 and (f) 2016-17; and what the estimated date of completion is of the project;
	(5)  what the total planned public expenditure on the Gateway to the Sheffield City Region Terminal is in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15, (e) 2015-16 and (f) 2016-17; and what the estimated date of completion is of the project;
	(6)  what the total planned public expenditure on constructing and developing the Tees Multimodal Bio-Freight Terminal is in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15, (e) 2015-16 and (f) 2016-17; and what the estimated date of completion is of the project.

Norman Baker: The Government are currently undertaking the contracting process for the projects which have successfully received a conditional allocation under the Regional Growth Fund. More information will be available from the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), once this process is complete. All funding for successful projects will need to be drawn down by the end of the spending period in March 2015.

Travel Information: Disability

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she plans to take to increase access to travel advice and information for disabled people.

Norman Baker: holding answer 12 January 2012
	As part of the Spectator Journey Planning service for the London 2012 Games, new functionality has been provided by the Department for Transport and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (via Transport Direct and the Olympic Delivery Authority) to enable spectators to request and discover route options that have level access and/or staff assistance available. This is based on a Games Network of Accessible Travel that covers almost 1,000 transport locations including National Rail stations, London Underground, light rail in London, Croydon and Nottingham, coach stations and Thames river piers.
	As part of the preparations for London 2012 and as part of the Access for All programme of improvements on the National Rail network, audits have been undertaken of accessible stations and users can access these to see details and photographs of the accessible facilities available.

EDUCATION

Special Needs

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the role of parents in decisions on whether their child is independently tested for special educational needs.

Sarah Teather: Parents will always be central to assessments of their child's special educational needs. Some tell us that local authorities holding responsibility for assessing needs and making provision can appear to be a conflict of interest and lead to a lack of confidence in the process. That is why, through our Green Paper pathfinders, we are testing ways in which the voluntary sector might improve parents' confidence in the assessment process.

Special Needs

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the level of reductions in local authority funding for the support of children with special educational needs in 2011-12.

Sarah Teather: In total, in 2011-12, local authorities plan to spend £2,971 million on:
	additional support for individual children with statements in mainstream schools;
	maintained special schools;
	placements in independent and non-maintained special schools;
	specialist support services.
	This compares with £2,800 million in 2010-11 and represents an increase of 6.1% in the past year.

Apprenticeships

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to prepare young people in schools for apprenticeships in (a) Isle of Wight constituency and (b) England.

John Hayes: From September, all schools in England will be placed under a legal duty to secure access to independent and impartial careers guidance. This will include information about Apprenticeships. The National Apprenticeship Service is working with schools to inform and prepare young people for apprenticeships. And we are reforming the National Curriculum and raising standards in all our schools so that young people are better prepared for further learning, training or work.

Academies

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools have converted to academy status in (a) Tamworth constituency, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England since May 2010.

Michael Gove: Since May 2010, two schools have become Academies in Tamworth constituency.
	Across the West Midlands, 136 Academies have opened since May 2010.
	As of 1 January 2012 a total of 1,529 Academies are open across England, of which 1,326 Academies opened since May 2010 (1,194 converters, 132 sponsored).

Academies

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of progress in creating academies in (a) England, (b) the south-east and (c) Sittingbourne and Sheppey constituency.

Michael Gove: Almost 18 months ago, in May 2010, we passed the Academies Act. Since then, 1,326 schools have become academies, with hundreds more in the pipeline. A total of 1,529 schools are now academies across England.
	220 academies have opened in the south-east (excluding London).
	In Sittingbourne and Sheppey there are eight converter academies (four primary, four secondary). One further school has submitted an application to convert.

School Transport

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on school transport; and if he will make a statement.

Tim Loughton: Local authorities must provide free transport for compulsory school age pupils attending a school further from home than the statutory walking distances. Additional support is available for children from low-income families who meet the eligibility criteria. Local authorities must make arrangements for pupils unable to walk to school because of their special educational need, disability or mobility problems. Local authorities have a discretionary power to provide transport to all other children, though this need not be free.

School Sport

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to increase participation in school sport.

Tim Loughton: Schools should provide competitive sport for all pupils as part of a rounded education. The review of National Curriculum PE will ensure that all pupils aged five to 16 will play sport at school. Additionally, the Departments for Education, Health and Culture, Media and Sport are working together to create the new School Games, which will provide competitions in a wide range of sports within school, between schools and at regional and national levels. The Department for Education is providing £65 million to enable PE teachers to help to develop the School Games.

Free Schools

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many free schools he expects to open in 2012.

Michael Gove: I am delighted to report that the demand from parents for free schools remains strong throughout the country. We have already opened the first 24 free schools, six studio schools and two university technical colleges in response to this demand and there are a further 102 new schools in the pipeline.
	Groups behind this next wave have a lot of work to do in the coming months, with 83 planning at this stage to open in 2012. If they continue to show the passion and commitment that was so evident in their proposals, they can provide the new schools that their communities so clearly need and deserve.
	In the coming months I will be considering many more exciting proposals for new schools and I will of course keep the House updated on progress in this area.

Children's Centres

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of payment-by-results in children's centres.

Sarah Teather: We are running a trial to explore the feasibility of introducing payment by results in children’s centres. The trial, involving 27 local authorities, began in summer 2011 and will run until March 2013. The trials will generate an evidence base about the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches and help to inform an assessment of effectiveness.

Magazine Press: Retail Trade

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to encourage small retailers to adopt the voluntary code of practice for the display of adult magazines; and how many letters his Department has sent to small retailers on the voluntary code of practice.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 10 January 2012
	Ensuring that magazines and newspapers with sexualised images on their covers are not displayed in easy sight of young children is one of the recommendations made by Reg Bailey in his independent review of the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood, 'Letting Children be Children'. The recommendation calls on retail associations in the news industry to do more to encourage observance of the industry's voluntary code of practice on the display of magazines with sexualised images on their covers, and that publishers and distributors should provide such magazines in modesty sleeves, or make modesty boards available, to all outlets they supply and encourage the appropriate display of their publications. The Government have accepted and welcomed Mr Bailey's analysis and the thrust of this and all the other recommendations he has made, which will reduce the pressure on children to grow up too fast.
	This Department has not written directly to retailers on this matter since, in line with most of the recommendations of Mr Bailey's report, this recommendation is directed at businesses and their industry associations. It is a matter for those organisations to decide how best to achieve the intended outcome of the recommendation and the Government look to them to see that it is implemented as fully as possible. I therefore welcome the action taken by the Professional Publishers Association to refresh and reissue the voluntary code of practice to its members, and by the Press Distribution Forum to make the code of practice more accessible to parents by providing a link to it from the ParentPort website. This should help any parent who is concerned about the display of magazines with sexualised images on their covers to raise the issue with the retailer in question.
	However, we expect to see more progress made on this issue. The Prime Minister chaired a summit meeting on 11 October 2011 to get progress reports from businesses, industry associations and regulators and I subsequently wrote to these organisations to acknowledge the progress made to that point and to set out our expectations for the future, including on the display of magazines. The Prime Minister and I will be holding further such meetings later this year in order to check the progress being made, and there will be a full stock-take of progress by the end of the year. At this point we will consider what further measures may need to be taken to achieve the recommended outcomes, including considering statutory regulation if voluntary action has not been effective.

TREASURY

Ministerial Meetings

Kevan Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether (a) he, (b) any Ministers and (c) officials of his Department have met (i) Mr Michael Hintze, (ii) Mr Tony Buckingham, (iii) Mr Michael Davis, (iv) Mr Poju Zabludowicz, (v) Jon Moulton and (vi) Stephen Crouch; and where any such meetings took place.

Chloe Smith: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
	A list of ministerial meetings with external organisations is published quarterly on the HM Treasury website:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Bankruptcy

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) people and (b) businesses were declared bankrupt in each year for which figures are available.

Edward Davey: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Annual numbers of individual insolvencies in England and Wales back to 1960 are available at the following link:
	http://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/otherinformation/statistics/historicdata/IndividualInsolvencies.xls
	These figures show bankruptcy separately from other types of personal insolvency and include those self-employed traders who are declared bankrupt.
	Annual numbers of corporate liquidations in England and Wales back to 1960 are available at the following link:
	http://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/otherinformation/statistics/historicdata/CompanyLiquidations.xls

Banks: Finance

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the net Exchequer expenditure on (a) Lloyds TSB, (b) Royal Bank of Scotland and (c) other banks and building societies between 1 January 2008 and 1 January 2012.

Mark Hoban: The Government publish detailed information on the interventions in the financial system undertaken since 2007. This information is available in the HM Treasury annual report and accounts for each of the years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	A full breakdown of the interventions undertaken by the last Government has been provided in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report to the House of Commons on the Treasury annual report and accounts for 2010-11. Institution specific information is also outlined in the Treasury accounts as follows:
	2008-09: notes 29-38
	2009-10: notes 27-36
	2010-11: notes 29-38.

Banks: Iceland

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to commission an inquiry into the effects on the UK economy of the collapse of the financial services sector in Iceland.

Mark Hoban: The Government have no plans to commission an inquiry into the effects on the UK economy of the collapse of the financial services sector in Iceland.
	Arrangements have been made for all eligible UK depositors in the Icelandic Banks to be fully compensated by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and HM Treasury.
	In March 2009, the Treasury Select Committee published a report titled ‘Banking Crisis: The impact of the failure of the Icelandic banks’. The report can be found via the following web link:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmtreasy/402/402.pdf

Banks: Pay

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with (a) Lloyds TSB and (b) Royal Bank of Scotland on provision of bonuses in 2012.

Mark Hoban: The Government are committed to tackling unacceptable bank bonuses. At the start of 2011 we placed a limit of £2,000 on cash bonuses for the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds in respect of 2010 bonuses. The bonus pool in respect of 2010 bonuses was significantly lower than the previous year and we have introduced the most transparent reporting regime of any major financial centre.
	We have made it clear that the bonus pool this year in respect of 2011 bonuses must again be lower and more transparent. Further, the chief executive of LBG, Antonio Horta-Osorio, has decided that he does not want to be considered for a bonus for last year.
	The Government are also clear that at a time like this, banks should be following the new Financial Policy Committee's recommendation that bank earnings should be used first and foremost to build capital levels not pay out larger bonuses, so that banks can lend to families and businesses, and are protected against market instability.

Banks: Profits

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the profitability of (a) Lloyds TSB and (b) Royal Bank of Scotland in 2011.

Mark Hoban: The financial results for these banks are publically available on their websites.

Capital Allowances

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what definition HM Revenue and Customs uses of financial services for the purposes of enhanced capital allowances;
	(2)  what definition of (a) energy, (b) aerospace, (c) advanced manufacturing and (d) automotive HM Revenue and Customs uses for the purposes of administering enhanced capital allowances.

David Gauke: None, as the tax legislation providing for first year (enhanced) capital allowances does not contain these terms.

Coinage

Lyn Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what duties banks have in respect of requests from members of the public to exchange coins for notes.

Chloe Smith: This is a matter for the individual banks: there is no legal obligation for them to exchange coins for notes.

Coinage: Local Government

Therese Coffey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment was made of the likely effect of the proposed introduction of new five and 10 pence coins on local authority ticket machines.

Chloe Smith: In 2010 the decision was taken to delay the implementation (originally planned for early 2011) in order to allow industry—including local councils—additional time to complete the required recalibration of machines and thereby substantially reduce their costs.
	The full impact assessment concerning the change in composition of 5p and 10p coins is available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ria_coin_composition_change.htm

Debts

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average level of household debt was in the last year for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the likely level of such debt in each of the next five years.

Chloe Smith: The total amount of household debt in 2010 was £1,540,976 million. There were 27.264 million households in the UK at the end of 2010. The average amount of household debt was therefore approximately £56,500. Official economic forecasts are produced by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). While the OBR do not produce forecasts for the average household debt, projections have been made for aggregate household debt alongside the Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in November 2011. The forecasts are available from the OBR website.

Departmental Secondment

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff are seconded to his Department from (a) UK and (b) other banks.

Chloe Smith: As at 31 December 2011 HM Treasury did not have any staff seconded in from UK or other banks.

Financial Services: Compensation

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that the EU Deposit Guarantee Scheme Directive applies compensation limits to brands a well as financial institutions.

Mark Hoban: Negotiations on the EU Deposit Guarantee Scheme Directive are currently in progress.
	The directive aims to improve depositor protection across the EU and EEA. The Government will ensure that depositors in UK institutions continue to benefit from rapid effective compensation arrangements under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will ensure the hon. Member for Walsall North receives a reply to his letter to the Economic Secretary of 23 November 2011, transferred to HM Revenue and Customs, ref 57082/2011.

David Gauke: I understand HM Revenue and Customs have now replied to the hon. Member.

Pensions: Greece

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions (a) he and (b) his ministerial colleagues have had with the European Commission about the extent of ghost pensions in Greece and its economic impact on the eurozone.

Mark Hoban: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), has discussions with EU counterparts on a variety of issues on a regular basis, and it would not be appropriate to provide a commentary on such meetings.
	The Government believe that the agreement reached on 26 October represents good progress towards a resolution of the situation in Greece; the agreement is based on private sector participation on a voluntary basis. More work is now needed to put the agreement into practice, including detailed negotiations with the private sector.
	Ultimately, the onus is on the euro area to deliver a solution for Greece that reflects a rigorous and realistic assessment of Greece's debt dynamics.

Personal Pensions

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he (a) has met and (b) plans to meet Dr Christopher Sier and Mr David Norman to discuss the future of private pensions; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Petrol: Prices

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of differential revenue receipts on petrol due to regional and local variations in the price of petrol.

Chloe Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the then Economic Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), gave on 17 May 2011, Official Report, column 192W, to my hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss). Fuel duty is paid by petrol importers and UK producers at a fixed amount of 57.95 pence per litre.

Revenue and Customs: Manpower

Luciana Berger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed in HM Revenue and Customs' Dynamic Response Team in each of the last three financial years.

David Gauke: The HMRC national minimum wage (NMW) dynamic response team is a flexible multi-grade team drawn from an existing pool of experienced NMW compliance staff located across the UK. The number of staff attached to the team in the two years since its formation is:
	December 2009:11
	December 2010: 20
	December 2011: 20.

Tax Evasion

Karl McCartney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what recent discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with officials in HM Revenue and Customs on the practice of offering sweetheart deals;
	(2)  what his policy is on the practice of offering sweetheart deals;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the loss in revenue to the Exchequer as a result of sweetheart deals entered into by HM Revenue and Customs.

David Gauke: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
	HMRC treats all taxpayers even-handedly and does not give any of its customers favourable treatment or do sweetheart deals to allow them to settle for less than the full amount.

Tax Evasion: Northern Ireland

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements are in place for liaison with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on tax evasion.

David Gauke: Ministers engage with their colleagues in the Northern Ireland Executive on a variety of matters, including tax evasion.
	This Government and HMRC are determined to tackle tax evasion of all kinds, regardless of where it occurs, and ensure that the tax system operates fairly and efficiently for all. As part of the 2010 spending review settlement we announced that just over £900 million would be made available to HMRC to step-up their activity, in tackling tax loss. So for the four year period from April 2011 HMRC will reinvest £917 million of the savings they make to maximise additional revenues, which will include putting extra resource into tackling both evasion and avoidance. This reinvestment will fund a range of measures which will enable HMRC to bring in around £7 billion each year by 2014-15 in additional revenues.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of employers who were given penalty charges for failure to meet the deadline for returning P35 forms in each of the last five financial years for which figures are available; how much revenue to the Exchequer was raised from such penalties in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The information requested is available only at disproportionate cost, as the data are not centrally held by HM Revenue and Customs data systems.
	The number of penalties issued and associated amount due depends on the number of employees an employer employs (who are subject to PAYE deductions) and the length of time the PAYE Employer Annual Return was actually late or remained outstanding after the statutory filing deadline on 19 May following the end of the tax year (penalty calculation is based on £100 per 50 employees for each month or part month that the return is received late or is outstanding).

VAT: Charities

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to amend section 41(7) of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 to ensure the equal treatment of charities and the NHS in relation to VAT recovery; what recent representations he has received on this issue; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The Government have no plans to bring forward such proposals. Section 41 of the VAT Act provides limited recovery of VAT for Government Departments, including the NHS, in respect of certain outsourced services. The VAT which is refunded to the NHS and other bodies is fully taken into account as part of those bodies' overall funding arrangements, and the schemes that are in place represent the most efficient means of delivering this part of their funding.

VAT: Home Care Services

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what his policy is on exempting from VAT the charges for home care for people with disabilities;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of exempting from VAT the charges paid for home care by people with disabilities.

David Gauke: Welfare services are exempt from VAT but only if the services are supplied by a charity, a state-regulated private welfare institution or agency, or a public body. If provided by any other body then they will be taxable at the standard rate. No estimate has been made of the VAT paid at the standard rate on such supplies as the data are not collected.

Veolia Environment: Taxation

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans his Department has to ensure that HM Revenue and Customs takes steps to review the data it holds relating to Veolia Environmental Services to ensure it is paying the correct level of taxation in the UK.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs cannot for reasons of taxpayer confidentiality comment on the tax affairs of individual companies. Veolia Environmental Services will be subject to the same compliance checks as any other company.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Kevan Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to question 78653, tabled on 1 November 2011 for answer on 3 November 2011, on meetings.

Chloe Smith: I have now replied to the hon. Member.

JUSTICE

Bail

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the highest number of previous convictions was for failing to surrender to bail for an individual convicted of an offence of failing to surrender to bail without being sent to prison in each of the last three years; and how many offences they had committed in total at the point of sentence for that offence.

Crispin Blunt: The following table shows the highest number of previous convictions for failing to surrender to bail, for individuals convicted of this offence in the years 2008 to 2010 who received a sentence other than immediate custody. It also shows their total number of previous cautions and convictions, and previous immediate custodial sentences. Although these individuals did not go to prison for their index offence, they had all previously been to prison for the same offence. Each individual has been cautioned or convicted of a large number of prostitution-related offences.
	These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
	
		
			 Highest number of previous convictions for failing to surrender to bail, when convicted of this offence in England and Wales in the years 2008 to 2010, and not going to prison 
			 Number of previous offences 
			  2008 2009 2010 
			 Previous convictions for failing to surrender to bail 124 125 60 
			 Previous cautions and convictions at time of conviction 378 382 304 
			 Previous immediate custodial sentences at time of conviction 53 53 24

Brain: Injuries

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has received representations on the effect on offending of an acquired brain injury.

Crispin Blunt: No formal representations on the effect on offending of an acquired brain injury are known to have been received, but Department of Health officials responsible for developing police custody and court liaison and diversion services for individuals with mental health problems and learning disabilities have met with the Disabilities Trust Foundation on related issues. I have had discussions with interested professionals, including at the Children’s Trust, Tadworth and remain interested in any emerging academic research in this area of study.

Chief Coroner

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many meetings (a) he and (b) officials in his Department had with the Lord Chief Justice on the appointment of a chief coroner in November and December 2011.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), discussed this matter with the Lord Chief Justice in November 2011. While Ministry of Justice officials have not met the Lord Chief Justice, they held meetings with colleagues from the Judicial Office on two occasions in November and December to discuss the appointment of the chief coroner and this dialogue is ongoing.

Civil Justice Council

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the two main items of non-staff running costs are that have been reduced by the Civil Justice Council as part of its 23% reduction in spending in 2011-12 compared to 2010-11.

Jonathan Djanogly: Further to the answer that I have previously given to the hon. Member, the main items reduced were conference costs and research.

Civil Proceedings

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library copies of all correspondence received from media organisations in response to his Department's consultation on the reform of civil litigation.

Kenneth Clarke: Nineteen media organisations responded to the Government's consultation on the reform of civil litigation. The responses to the consultation were identical and referred to a submission by the Media Lawyers Association (MLA). I am placing the relevant correspondence and the MLA submission in the House Library.

Community Orders

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what timetable he has set for the development of his proposals on reforms to ensure that community sentences effectively punish and rehabilitate offenders.

Crispin Blunt: We will be consulting on proposals to reform sentences in the community to ensure that they effectively punish and rehabilitate offenders. We intend to publish the consultation shortly.

Community Orders

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on the flexibility of the time, date and location of community service offered to offenders sentenced to community service.

Crispin Blunt: Community service is now the unpaid work requirement of a community or suspended sentence order, which is also known as community payback. It is a legislative requirement that, so far as is practicable, the obligations imposed by a community order should not conflict with an offender's religious beliefs, employment, education or training. Community payback work placements are therefore operated flexibly seven days a week. Offenders are allocated to work placements within reasonable travelling distance of their home address. The precise location and nature of the work placement will also be determined by other factors such as the risk posed by the offender, the location of victims, the offender's availability and any specific needs which the offender may have, such as carer responsibilities or disability. Employed offenders are normally required to work a minimum of one day a week, while unemployed offenders may be instructed to work their sentence more intensively.

Community Orders

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders sentenced to a community service sentence have been remanded in custody for failing to complete the required community service (a) in Wales and (b) nationally in the last 12 months.

Crispin Blunt: With the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, community service became the unpaid work requirement of a community order or suspended sentence order. It is also known as community payback.
	The information requested is not held centrally. Statistics are available separately on the number of unpaid work requirements which fail to complete and on the number of immediate receptions into custody for breach of a community order or suspended sentence order. Data-matching to combine them to calculate the number of receptions into custody which were specifically related to breach of an order with an unpaid work requirement would incur disproportionate cost.
	The latest available data show that in 2010-11 1,402 unpaid work requirements attached to community orders and suspended sentence orders supervised by the Wales Probation Trust were revoked for failure to comply or for conviction of a further offence. The total number of such requirements revoked for these reasons in England and Wales was 22,264(1).
	Data published for the calendar year 2009, the latest available, show that 3,996 persons were received into prison establishments in England and Wales for breach of a community sentence and 4,361 for breach of a suspended sentence(2). It is not possible to disaggregate the figures for establishments in Wales from these totals.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	(1) Source:
	Table 18, NOMS Annual Report 2010/11: Management Information Addendum, Ministry of Justice
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/statistics-and-data/hmps/noms-annual-report-2010-11-addendum.pdf
	(2) Source:
	Table 6.9, Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2009, Ministry of Justice
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonand probation.htm

Community Orders

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidelines his Department has issued on performance standard targets for community service work.

Crispin Blunt: With the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, community service became the unpaid work requirement of a community order or suspended sentence order. It is also known as community payback.
	The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Service Specification for Unpaid Work / Community Payback and the Community Payback Operating Manual issued by NOMS define the minimum outputs and delivery standards which must be met by probation trusts and other organisations responsible for community payback. They have been published on the Ministry of Justice website at the following location:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/guidance/prison-probation-and-rehabilitation/probation-instructions/pi_02_2010_unpaid_work_community_payback_service_ specification.pdf
	In addition, as part of their contracts, probation trusts are required to deliver a certain volume of successful completions of unpaid work requirements in the year as agreed with the commissioner. As management information NOMS also collects data on the percentage of unpaid work requirements which are successfully completed and the percentage of unpaid work offender days lost because of stand-downs (where the offender is sent home on the day or notified in advance not to attend). Outturns against each of these measures are reported at regional and national level in the NOMS Annual Report 2010/11: Management Information Addendum, which is published on the Justice website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/statistics-and-data/hmps/noms-annual-report-2010-11-addendum.pdf

Community Orders

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on the measures available to probation officers to deal with offenders (a) who do not complete community service and (b) whose community service work falls below a satisfactory standard.

Crispin Blunt: Community service is now the unpaid work requirement of a community or suspended sentence order, which is also known as community payback. Legislation requires that offenders sentenced to unpaid work are returned to court and prosecuted for breach of their orders following a maximum of two apparent failures to attend for work without good reason, or a maximum of two failures to work as instructed, or to a satisfactory standard. On conviction, the court's current powers include imposing additional unpaid work hours, or revoking the order and imposing an alternative sentence.
	There are currently no executive powers for probation offender managers to deal with breach.

Courts: Video Conferencing

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the virtual court pilot scheme; and what plans he has to implement such a scheme nationwide.

Jonathan Djanogly: A pilot evaluation of virtual courts was published in December 2010 which concluded that first hearings in the magistrates courts could be conducted over secure video link from the police station.
	Virtual courts are currently being rolled out to four areas (London, Kent, Cheshire and Hertfordshire) to enable criminal justice agencies to continue to refine their operating models and to inform a ministerial decision on whether to implement them further.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people with criminal records applied for Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority funds in the last year; how many such people received awards; and what the monetary value of those awards was to the nearest £25,000.

Jonathan Djanogly: CICA cannot say definitively how many people with unspent convictions applied in the last 12 months because information about whether an applicant has unspent convictions is only recorded on CICA's database when they decide the case—either by refusing compensation or making a reduced award.
	CICA can, however, give figures based on cases resolved in that time. In the 2011 calendar year 3,092 people received an award that was reduced because of unspent convictions and 3,726 people had their case refused because of unspent convictions, giving a total of 6,818. The breakdown of the 3,092 awards is shown in the following table as requested:
	
		
			 Nearest £25,000 Number of awards paid 
			 25,000 3,059 
			 50,000 6 
			 75,000 7 
			 100,000 5 
			 125,000 4 
			 150,000 1 
			 175,000 2 
			 200,000 2 
			 225,000 — 
			 250,000 — 
			 275.000 — 
			 300,000 — 
			 325,000 3 
			 350,000 1 
			 375,000 1 
			 400,000 — 
			 425,000 1 
			 450,000 — 
			 475,000 — 
			 500,000 —

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people with criminal records applied for funds from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in the last 12 months; how many awards were made to such people; and how many applications were refused under each scheme paragraph.

Jonathan Djanogly: CICA cannot say definitively how many people with unspent convictions applied in the last 12 months because information about whether an applicant has unspent convictions is only recorded on CICA's database when they decide the case—either by refusing compensation or making a reduced award.
	CICA can, however, give figures based on cases resolved in that time. In the 2011 calendar year 3,092 people received an award that was reduced because of unspent convictions and 3,726 people had their case refused because of unspent convictions, giving a total of 6,818. Paragraph 13 (e) of the scheme covers all refusals for unspent convictions.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many registered Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority claims were unresolved on the last day of each month since May 2010.

Jonathan Djanogly: Figures covering the period specified are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Month Number of unresolved cases 
			 2010  
			 May 43,831 
			 June 45,844 
			 July 47,151 
			 August 48,384 
			 September 49,763 
			 October 48,206 
			 November 50,583 
			 December 47,824 
			   
			 2011  
			 January 47,354 
			 February 47,447 
			 March 48,781 
			 April 48,808 
			 May 49,920 
			 June 50,286 
			 July 50,100 
			 August 49,835 
			 September 50,250 
			 October 48,914 
			 November 48,287 
			 December 47,720

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convicted people sustaining injuries at the scene of a crime or while fleeing from the scene of a crime have received criminal injury compensation awards in each of the last 10 years; and for what reason in each case.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority only holds information at that level of detail within individual files, not in their main database. The information requested could be obtained only by a member of staff manually sifting through around 250,000 files at a disproportionate cost.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority: Manpower

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has employed in each month since May 2010.

Jonathan Djanogly: Figures covering the period specified are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Month Number of CICA staff (full-time equivalent) 
			 2010  
			 May 458.65 
			 June 451.01 
			 July 450.18 
			 August 446.00 
			 September 437.52 
			 October 419.67 
			 November 410.84 
			 December 409.16 
			   
			 2011  
			 January 403.41 
			 February 402.78 
			 March 403.28 
			 April 394.62 
			 May 378.21 
			 June 374.43 
			 July 369.04 
			 August 367.26 
			 September 365.86 
			 October 364.81 
			 November 355.86 
			 December 355.94

Debt Collection

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many enforcement officers HM Courts and Tribunals Service has employed in each month since May 2010.

Jonathan Djanogly: The number of enforcement staff employed in HMCTS is shown in the following table. The system does not hold this information by month.
	
		
			  2010 2011 
			 Court enforcement officer 453 396 
			 Tipstaff 2 2 
			 Bailiff 486 465 
			 Total 941 863

Debt Collection: Regulation

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps he has taken to improve his Department's capacity to regulate claims management companies.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Department's Claims Management Regulation Unit has developed partnerships with the Legal Ombudsman Service (LeO), the Insurance Fraud Bureau, Direct Marketing Association, Information Commissioner's Office and the Financial Ombudsman Service to help tackle malpractice and protect consumers. Specific areas such as the handling of claims for mis-sold payment protection insurance have been targeted by the establishment of a specialist compliance team.
	Work is also under way to improve the effectiveness of the current system of regulation which includes making improvements to the handling of consumer complaints, the authorisation process, and considering options for the future of regulation.

Defamation Bill

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to publish the Defamation Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Government remain firmly committed to reform of the law of defamation and we will seek to publish and introduce a substantive Defamation Bill as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Departmental Buildings

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse was of his Department's headquarters in Petty France, London in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Kenneth Clarke: The overall cost of the Ministry of Justice's headquarters building at 102 Petty France, London for 2010-11 was £36.4 million. This includes rent and service concession arrangement fees of £26.5 million, plus rates, utilities, maintenance, security, cleaning and contracted catering services.
	The use of 102 Petty France by the Department is part of a wider estate rationalisation programme to reduce its central London headquarters buildings from 18 to a maximum of four. From 2015, the rationalisation programme will have generated savings of £47 million a year.

Departmental Decorations

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on decorations for its head office since May 2010.

Kenneth Clarke: No money has been spent on the decoration of 102 Petty France, the Ministry of Justice’s central London headquarters, since May 2010.

Departmental Manpower

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many speechwriters his Department employs at each pay grade.

Kenneth Clarke: The Ministry of Justice employs one ministerial speechwriter at Band A (civil service Grade 7).

Departmental Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was paid to officials in his Department and its non-departmental public bodies in (a) bonuses, (b) allowances and (c) other payments additional to basic salary in each of the last two years for which figures are available; what categories of payment may be made to officials in addition to basic salary; what the monetary value is of each category of payment; and what the monetary value was of the 20 largest such payments made in each of the last two years.

Kenneth Clarke: The information is as follows:
	(a) Senior civil service
	The following table sets out the total amount of non-consolidated performance related payments awarded in the years 2009-10 and 2010-11 to members of the senior civil service within the Ministry of Justice and National Offender Management Service. The table includes the maximum payment awarded and the monetary value of the 20 largest payments made.
	
		
			 £ 
			  Total amount paid Maximum payment awarded Monetary value of 20 largest payments 
			 2009-10 949,000 10,000 200,000 
			 2010-11 494,000 12,000 194,000 
		
	
	Ministry of Justice (below senior civil service)
	The following tables set out the total amount of 'in-year' and 'end-year' non-consolidated performance-related payments awarded in the years 2009-10 and 2010-11 within the Ministry of Justice. The tables include the maximum payments awarded and the monetary value of the 20 largest payments made.
	
		
			 In-year 
			 £ 
			  Total amount paid Maximum payment awarded Monetary value of 20 largest payments 
			 2009-11 1,483,442 8,000 91,448.00 
			 2010-11 1,291,512 5,697 58,956 
		
	
	
		
			 End-year 
			 £ 
			  Total amount paid Maximum payment awarded Monetary value of 20 largest payments 
			 2009-10 2,226,800 1,200 24,000 
			 2010-11 1,921,200 1,200 24,000 
		
	
	National Offender Management Service (below Senior Civil Service)
	The following tables set out the total amount of 'in-year' and 'end-year' non-consolidated performance-related payments awarded in the years 2009-10 and 2010-11 within the National Offender Management Service. The tables include the monetary value of the 20 largest payments made.
	
		
			 In-year 
			  Total amount paid (£) Number of staff receiving payment Monetary value of 20 largest payments (£) 
			 2009-10 1,609,340 2,503 87,454 
			 2010-11 1,033,912 1,546 54,741 
			 Note: Information has been adjusted to exclude payments that are not special bonus payments. The figures presented here may therefore differ from previously published totals. The nature of the excluded payments is not known. These figures include previous NOMS HQ groups that transferred to MOJ in June 2010. 
		
	
	
		
			 End-year 
			  Total amount paid (£) Number of staff receiving payment Monetary value of 20 largest payments (£) 
			 2009-10 1,630,548 5,966 16,420 
			 2010-11 1,724,607 6,245 16,580 
			 Note: The value of the 'year end' payment of non consolidated performance pay is set as part of the pay award and is a standard percentage of salary for all staff who receive it. The figures previously provided for 2009-10 have been updated to reflect those staff who received a late performance report and received payment post July 2010. 
		
	
	(b) Ministry of Justice
	Central records of the values of all allowances are not held as some are not fixed monetary amounts but are variable based on a percentage of basic salary so are variable. The monetary value of the top 20 largest payments are not available. The total amount paid in 2009-10 and 2010-11 are set out as follows:
	2009-10—£9,458,872
	2010-11—£9,691,912
	National Offender Management Service
	Information on the monetary value of each category is not available in the detail requested. However, the sum of all payments in addition to standard salary payments for NOMS staff for 2009-10 and 2010-11 are shown as follows:
	2009-10—£120,272,758
	2010-11—£121,578,422
	(c) Ministry of Justice
	The total amount paid to staff for overtime and travel time within the Ministry of Justice in addition to basic salary for the year 2009-10 was £6,759,306 and for the year 2010-11 was £6,000,000(1). The monetary value of each payment is not available as the rates paid are based on individual FTE salaries and contractual hours. Records on the monetary value of the 20 highest payments are not held centrally.
	(1 )This is a rounded figure based on a recent pay remit return. Exact figures are not yet available.
	National Offender Management Service
	Details of total amounts paid in overtime payments to staff in the NOMS for 2009-10 and 2010-11 are shown as follows. Records on the monetary value of the 20 highest payments are not held centrally.
	2009-10—£10,422,968
	2010-11—£10,438,863

Departmental Work Experience

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidelines his Department issues to its non-departmental public bodies on the employment of unpaid interns.

Kenneth Clarke: The Ministry of Justice is currently developing a policy on work experience, work placements and internships. In doing so, the Ministry aims to meet its commitment to provide a formal approach to internships by March 2012 (as outlined in the Social Mobility Strategy launched in May 2011). The Ministry's arm’s lengths bodies have received guidance about the cessation of all informal internships until the new policy is in place.

Driving Under Influence: Kent

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people were convicted of drink-driving offences in Kent and Medway in December 2011; and how many of those convictions were passed in the virtual court pilot scheme;
	(2)  how many of those convicted of drink driving offences were convicted and disqualified in a shorter time frame than the standard 15 days as a result of the virtual court pilot scheme in Kent and Medway in December 2011.

Crispin Blunt: Information for the overall number of defendants convicted of drink-driving offences in Kent and Medway in December 2011 is not yet available. Annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in spring 2012.
	Indicative data available from Kent police is that 222 people were charged with drink driving offences during the month of December. 15 drink drivers were put before the virtual court at Medway magistrates court in December; 12 of those were disqualified at first hearing within 48 hours of being charged.

EU Law

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of the regulations his Department brought into force through (a) primary legislation, (b) secondary legislation and (c) other means originated from proposals by the European Commission in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

Crispin Blunt: There was one provision commenced through primary legislation by my Department which was derived from EU legislation in 2010.
	There were a further 11 statutory instruments (secondary legislation) brought into force. Of these three were in force in 2010 and the remaining eight in force in 2011.

EU Law

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which EU (a) directives, (b) regulations and (c) other legislation affecting his Department require transposition into UK law; and what estimate he has made of the cost to (i) the public purse and (ii) the private sector of such measures.

Jonathan Djanogly: The following EU legislation has been agreed which is awaiting transposition into law in England and Wales:
	Council Decision2008/431/EC of 5 June 2008 authorising certain member states to ratify, or accede to, in the interest of the European Community, the 1996 Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Cooperation in respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children and authorising certain member states to make a declaration on the application of the relevant internal rules of Community law.
	Directive 2010/64/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings.
	Council Decision 2011/432/EU of 9 June 2011 on the approval, on behalf of the European Union, of the Hague Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance.
	Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA.
	Directive 2011/99/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the European protection order.
	There is also a body of EU legislation in the area of police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters, adopted prior to the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty, against which the Government are currently assessing our outstanding transposition obligations. This will inform the decision we must take no later than May 2014 on whether to accept European Court of Justice jurisdiction for these measures. Instruments in the area of civil and criminal judicial co-operation rarely have a significant impact on the private sector and have minimal impact on the public purse—the latter usually relating only to the administrative costs of facilitating the operation of the instrument. The Government are increasingly using impact assessments, and associated control mechanisms (including a new Cabinet Committee and external scrutiny body) to control the costs of policy proposals. Specific emphasis is also being placed on avoiding “gold- plating” when transposing EU measures and the Government are alert to the need to “push back” on EU proposals which may have an adverse economic effect. Impact assessments for the 2007 Hague convention and the directives on interpretation and translation, combating child sexual exploitation, and the European Protection Order will be available publically in due course. An assessment of the likely costs arising from the 1996 Hague convention determined that an impact assessment was unnecessary.

Euthanasia

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has assessed the conclusions of the report from the Commission on Assisted Dying; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: The Government will look at the conclusions reached by the Commission on Assisted Dying with interest. However, the Government have made clear that any change to the law in this emotive and contentious area is an issue of individual conscience and therefore a matter for Parliament to decide rather than one for government policy.

Feltham Young Offender Institution

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  when he expects to publish his Department's evaluation of the resettlement project in Heron Wing at HM Young Offender Institution Feltham;
	(2)  what plans he has to continue the work of the Heron Wing resettlement unit for young offenders at HM Young Offender Institution Feltham after March 2012.

Crispin Blunt: I understand that a full evaluation report of the ‘Daedalus’ resettlement project in Heron Wing, which is funded by the Mayor of London's office, is expected to be published in summer 2012. Decisions about continuing the work of the Heron Wing resettlement unit after May 2012, when the current funding ends, are still under review.

Feltham Young Offender Institution

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps the National Offender Management Service is taking to address the findings of the recent report by HM Chief Inspectorate of Prisons on HM Young Offender Institution Feltham.

Crispin Blunt: As with all HMCIP establishment reports NOMS will produce an action plan responding to all the recommendations made in the report. The intention is to produce the action plan within six months of the date of the publication which was 20 December 2011.

Freedom (Great Repeal) Bill (Draft)

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 5 April 2011, Official Report, column 795W, on law: repealed, when he expects the Repeals Bill to be laid before the House.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Government remain committed to the repeal of unnecessary legislation, particularly that which imposes excessive burdens on business, individuals and public bodies. Legislation to take forward this commitment will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time permits.

Freedom of Information

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reasons his Department's freedom of information disclosure log has not been updated since August 2011.

Kenneth Clarke: The Ministry of Justice is committed to maintaining a disclosure log of information provided under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and it has now been updated with content for 1 September to 31 November. Content for December will be published in due course. Improvements are being made to the existing format of the disclosure log: from February of this year the content will be categorised by subject matter, making it more easily accessible. No content was uploaded on the log while the format of the disclosure log was under review.

Freedom of Information

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's response to each report under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in which information has been disclosed since 1 September 2011, anonymising the requester's data in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Kenneth Clarke: The Ministry of Justice publishes information provided under the Freedom of Information Act on a disclosure log on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/global/foi-requests/latest-moj-disclosure-log.htm
	Content for the period 1 September 2011 to 31 November 2011 has now been uploaded to the disclosure log. Content for December will be published in due course. Owing to the volume of the content—over 200 responses, many with substantial attachments—it would not be proportionate to also place copies in the Library of the House.

Human Rights: Business

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the view expressed by the UN Special Representative on business and human rights that provisions in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill will constitute a significant barrier to legitimate business-related human rights claims being brought before UK courts.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Government are aware of the views expressed by the former UN Special Representative on business and human rights, Professor John Ruggie, regarding the impact of our reforms to no win no fee conditional fee agreements (CFAs) on victims of alleged corporate harm by UK multinationals in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.
	It remains our view that it will still be possible to bring claims against multinational companies once our reforms are implemented. However, we believe that the costs involved will be more proportionate to the sums in issue.
	The hon. Member may wish to note that Professor Ruggie wrote to me setting out his concerns and I responded in similar terms. A copy of this correspondence was placed in the House Library on 1 December 2011.

Information Commissioner

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions the Information Commissioner has ruled against his Department since its inception.

Kenneth Clarke: The Ministry of Justice was created in May 2007. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the independent regulator with responsibility for monitoring compliance with the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act (‘the Act’).
	The following table details the numbers of decision notices served by the Information Commissioner on the Ministry of Justice in respect of complaints against the Ministry of Justice under the Freedom of Information Act and the environmental information regulations. These figures include complaints against some of the MoJ's associated bodies not listed as separate public authorities under schedule 1 of the Act.
	Also recorded is whether the complaints against the Ministry of Justice were upheld, partly upheld or not upheld.
	
		
			 Calendar year Decision notices served Upheld Partly upheld Not upheld 
			 2007 10 2 6 2 
			 2008 12 1 6 5 
			 2009 13 6 1 6 
			 2010 26 8 9 9 
			 2011 35 8 8 19

Judges

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many judges sitting on cases before the First Tier Tribunal (Tax) (a) currently undertake private work as a legal practitioner on behalf of HM Revenue and Customs and (b) have undertaken private work as a legal practitioner on behalf of HM Revenue and Customs (i) within one year, (ii) within two years, (iii) within three years, (iv) within four years and (v) within five years of being appointed to serve as a First Tier Tribunal (Tax) judge;
	(2)  how many judges sitting on cases before the First Tier Tribunal (Tax) have undertaken private work as a legal practitioner on behalf of HM Revenue and Customs after sitting as a judge on cases before the First Tier Tribunal (Tax).

Jonathan Djanogly: We do not hold information that enables us to be able to provide details on the number of judges sitting on cases before the First Tier Tribunal (Tax) that have previously undertaken, currently undertake or have gone on to undertake private work as a legal practitioner on behalf of HM Revenue and Customs.
	Tribunal judges are often appointed from the legal profession so that they have both knowledge of and experience in the jurisdiction for which they will consider appeals. Judges are, of course, prohibited from taking judicial action on a case in which they have provided professional advice to either side.

Legal Aid Scheme: Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has consulted disabled people on the effect on them of removing welfare benefits from the scope of legal aid.

Jonathan Djanogly: A full public consultation was held on legal aid reform. Mindful of our obligations under the public sector equality duty, and in particular the need to encourage persons who share a protected characteristic to participate in public life, we engaged the Legal Services Commission's client diversity group, which includes users with protected characteristics (including disabilities) to obtain their views on the consultation proposals. This engagement led to the production of a summary of consultation proposals in the Easyread format for those with learning difficulties, as well as a British Sign Language version being made available.

Legal Aid Scheme: Telephones

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of its proposed communications strategy to inform the public of a new mandatory telephone gateway for legal aid.

Jonathan Djanogly: The estimated one-off cost of implementing the mandatory telephone gateway, which includes the cost of the marketing strategy being developed, is £2 million. This figure is contained within the impact assessment published in June 2011 as part of the 'Reform of Aid in England and Wales: the Government Response', and can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/legal-aid-reform.htm

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on (a) salary, (b) benefits, (c) accommodation, (d) transport and (e) expenses for special advisers in 2011-12 to date in each area of expenditure.

Kenneth Clarke: I have two special advisers. Their salaries are published quarterly on the Cabinet Office website. The last publication was 9 December 2011 and can be found here:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/LIST_AND_COSTS_9_DECEMBER_0.pdf
	My special advisers do not claim any other benefits or accommodation costs. They have claimed total travel and subsistence expenses of £129.10 in the period 13 January 2011 to 13 January 2012. Mobile phone charges provided under a central contract and overseas travel costs accompanying me on officials business are not included in these figures.

Prisoners: Jamaica

Michael Ellis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners held in HM Prison Service prisons are Jamaican nationals.

Crispin Blunt: The number of foreign national prisoners held in all prison establishments in England and Wales by nationality is published quarterly in the “Offender Management Statistics Quarterly Bulletin”, found under the following link:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/prisons-and-probation/oms-quarterly.htm
	From the most recent available data, end of September 2011, the number of Jamaican national prisoners in all prison establishments in England and Wales is 878.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisons: Public Expenditure

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the adult prison estate in England and Wales in February and March 2012.

Crispin Blunt: The latest estimated forecast expenditure for adult prison estate in private and public sector in England and Wales for February 2012 is £150.2 million; and for March 2012 is £154.3 million. Figures are subject to rounding, and are likely to change as actual expenditure is reviewed each month end.

Probation

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders given probation orders in England had their supervision transferred to Scottish local authorities in each of the last five years.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on how many offenders given community orders in England or Wales have had their supervision transferred to Scottish local authorities centrally. This information could be obtained only by a manual inspection of court files and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Secure Accommodation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many secure premises used to house restricted patients there are in each local authority area;
	(2)  how many secure premises used to house sex offenders there are in each local authority area.

Crispin Blunt: Restricted patients, including those who are sex offenders, may be detained in any hospital. Upon conditional discharge, depending on their needs, restricted patients may be housed in a variety of accommodation, including hostels, sheltered accommodation and private residential accommodation. It is not possible to provide a list of all premises used to house restricted patients.
	Sex offenders who are released from prison may be housed in approved premises. Approved premises are not identical to secure hospitals. Individuals convicted of offences who are required to reside in an approved premises as a condition of their release licence are not held there as an alternative to custody in that they have completed the custodial part of their sentence. However, they are subject to a night time curfew and may be subject to other restrictions on their movement, depending on their assessed risk of harm. No approved premises are exclusively for sex offenders; all are able to take other types of offender as well. The number of approved premises in each local authority area is as follows.
	
		
			 Local authority Number of approved premises 
			 Ashfield district 1 
			 Basildon district 1 
			 Bedford borough 1 
			 Birmingham city 4 
			 Blackburn with Darwen borough 1 
			 Bournemouth borough 1 
			 Brighton and Hove city 1 
			 Bristol city 3 
			 Bury borough 1 
			 Cardiff (unitary) 1 
			 Carlisle city 1 
			 Cheshire East borough 1 
			 Cheshire West and Chester borough 1 
		
	
	
		
			 City of York 1 
			 Cornwall (unitary) 1 
			 Derby city 1 
			 Doncaster borough 1 
			 Fareham borough 1 
			 Gateshead borough 1 
			 Gloucester city 1 
			 Guildford borough 1 
			 Gwynedd (unitary) 1 
			 Havant borough 1 
			 Hull city 1 
			 Hyndburn borough 1 
			 Ipswich borough 2 
			 Kirklees borough 2 
			 Leeds city 4 
			 Leicester city 2 
			 Lincoln city 1 
			 Liverpool city 4 
			 London borough of Brent 1 
			 London borough of Bromley 1 
			 London borough of Camden 2 
			 London borough of Ealing 1 
			 London borough of Islington 1 
			 London borough of Lambeth 2 
			 London borough of Lewisham 1 
			 London borough of Newham 1 
			 London borough of Richmond upon Thames 1 
			 London borough of Southwark 1 
			 London borough of Wandsworth 1 
			 Luton borough 1 
			 Maidstone borough 1 
			 Manchester city 2 
			 Middlesbrough borough 1 
			 Milton Keynes 1 
			 Newcastle city 2 
			 Newcastle under Lyme borough 1 
			 North Lincolnshire 1 
			 Northampton borough 1 
			 Norwich city 1 
			 Nottingham city 2 
			 Nuneaton and Bedworth borough 1 
			 Oldham borough 1 
			 Oxford city 2 
			 Peterborough city 1 
			 Plymouth city 1 
			 Reading borough 2 
			 Redcar and Cleveland (unitary) 1 
			 Rochdale borough 1 
			 Rotherham borough 1 
			 Salford city 1 
			 Sandwell borough 1 
			 Sedgemoor district 1 
			 Sheffield city 1 
			 Southampton city 1 
			 Stafford borough 1 
			 Stockport borough 1 
			 Stoke on Trent city 1 
			 Sunderland city 1 
			 Swansea (unitary) 1 
			 Wakefield city 1 
			 Walsall borough 1 
			 Warwick district 1 
			 Weymouth and Portland borough 1 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead borough 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Wolverhampton city 1 
			 Worcester city 1 
			 Wrexham borough 1

Sexual Offences: Rehabilitation

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse was of treatment programmes for sex offenders serving custodial sentences in prisons in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Crispin Blunt: The cost to the public purse of treatment programmes for sex offenders serving custodial sentences in prisons in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years is not collated centrally. This could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by gathering highly complex information held on offender files or in local and national data systems, validating it, collating it in a common format and then calculating the overall costs in order to provide a response.

Sexual Offences: Rehabilitation

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many sex offenders completed treatment programmes in prisons in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Crispin Blunt: There are a range of interventions that could all potentially help reduce an offender's risk of further sexual offending and/or general offending.
	In terms of those specifically designed to meet the treatment needs of sexual offenders, the figures for completions of an accredited Sex Offender Treatment Programme for the past 10 years to date are as follows:
	
		
			  Custody SOTP completions 
			 2001-02 851 
			 2002-03 867 
			 2003-04 948 
			 2004-05 1,232 
			 2005-06 1,152 
			 2006-07 1,224 
			 2007-08 1,117 
			 2008-09 1,114 
			 2009-10 1,133 
			 2010-11 1,142 
		
	
	These figures are only for completions and it is possible that the figure for each year includes offenders who have completed two courses.
	These figures do not include sexual offenders who have undertaken other programmes not specifically designed to address sexual offending, such as Thinking Skills programmes or treatment at Therapeutic Communities such as the one at HMP Grendon.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding his Department provided to (a) Action on Addiction, (b) Adoption UK, (c) the Adoption and Fostering Information Line, (d) the Child Bereavement Charity, (e) Well Child and (f) each of East Anglia's children’s hospices in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice provided funding of £27,500 to The Child Bereavement Charity in 2011-12. No funding was provided to this charity in 2010-11.
	The Ministry of Justice did not provide funding to Action on Addiction, Adoption UK, The Adoption and Fostering Information Line, Well Child and East Anglia's children's hospices in neither 2010-11 nor 2011-12.

Trade Unions

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to prevent the blacklisting of workers for trade union activities.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice acts in accordance with the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act (1992). Further to this, trade union representatives within the Department are afforded reasonable facility time to carry out their role. The Department does not blacklist workers for trade union activities.

Young Offenders: Haringey

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders aged between 18 and 20 from the London Borough of Haringey have been held in (a) young offender institutions, (b) local prisons and (c) other parts of the secure estate in each month since May 2009.

Crispin Blunt: All young offenders serving sentences of DYOI are held in appropriately designated YOI accommodation within the prison estate. The majority of this accommodation is in dedicated YOIs, although some establishments in the estate have a dual designation (designated both as a prison and a YOI) and hold both adult prisoners and young offenders.
	The following table shows the number of offenders aged 18 to 20-years-old with a recorded residential address or proxy in the London borough of Haringey who were held in predominant function male young offender institutions, predominant function male local prisons and other prisons (including female prisons) on a set day in each month where data are available since May 2009.
	
		
			 Number and location of male and female young adult offenders (aged 18 to 20) originating from London borough of Haringey 
			 Location May 2009 September 2010 November 2010 January 2011 March 2011 May 2011 July 2011 September 2011 November 2011 
			 (a) Male young offender institutions 89 76 76 73 70 62 75 87 104 
			 (b) Male local prisons 5 <5 <5 <5 <5 11 7 12 5 
		
	
	
		
			 (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) 6 13 10 11 20 18 17 19 16 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	Information on offenders' residences is provided by offenders on reception into prison and recorded on a central IT system. Addresses can include a home address, an address to which offenders intend to return on discharge or next of kin address and these figures are provided in the table above.
	If no address is given, an offender's committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which they are resident. These figures are also included in the table above. No address has been recorded and no court information is available for around 3% of all offenders, these figures are excluded from the table above.

Young Offenders: Haringey

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many juvenile offenders from the London borough of Haringey have been held in (a) secure children’s homes, (b) secure training centres and (c) young offender institutions in each month since May 2005.

Crispin Blunt: The following table shows the number of juvenile offenders (aged 10 to 17) either sentenced or remanded in custody attached to the Haringey youth offending team in each month since May 2005.
	This data is from the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and refers to secure training centres (STCs), secure children’s homes (SCHs) and under 18 young offender institutions (YOIs).
	The figures from April 2010 onwards are provisional. The final figures for April 2010 to March 2011 will be finalised in the 2010-11 Youth Justice Statistics publication on 26 January 2012. Data from April 2011 onwards will be finalised when the 2011-12 Youth Justice Statistics are published in 2013.
	
		
			 Young people in custody attached to Haringey youth offending team by establishment type in each month since May 2005 
			  Secure children’s homes Secure training centres Under 18 young offender institutions 
			 2005    
			 May 0 0 26 
			 June 0 1 28 
			 July 0 1 27 
			 August 0 1 25 
			 September 1 1 26 
			 October 1 1 22 
			 November 1 1 21 
			 December 1 2 19 
			     
			 2006    
			 January 0 3 22 
			 February 0 3 24 
			 March 0 4 25 
			 April 0 4 23 
			 May 1 4 24 
			 June 1 5 28 
			 July 1 5 27 
			 August 2 5 26 
			 September 2 5 28 
			 October 2 3 26 
			 November 2 1 27 
			 December 2 2 22 
			     
			 2007    
			 January 2 3 20 
			 February 1 5 22 
			 March 2 3 23 
			 April 2 3 28 
			 May 3 4 26 
			 June 2 4 26 
			 July 2 1 30 
			 August 2 0 25 
			 September 1 2 23 
			 October 1 3 25 
			 November 2 3 29 
			 December 3 5 27 
			     
			 2008    
			 January 2 4 36 
			 February 2 2 35 
			 March 2 3 33 
			 April 1 2 24 
			 May 2 2 24 
			 June 1 3 19 
			 July 0 3 20 
			 August 0 5 21 
			 September 0 6 17 
			 October 0 5 20 
			 November 0 4 17 
			 December 0 4 18 
			     
			 2009    
			 January 2 4 17 
			 February 1 3 15 
			 March 1 3 13 
			 April 1 1 14 
			 May 0 2 13 
			 June 0 1 17 
			 July 0 1 17 
			 August 0 1 17 
			 September 0 0 21 
			 October 0 0 20 
			 November 0 0 21 
			 December 0 0 22 
			     
			 2010    
			 January 0 1 25 
			 February 0 1 23 
		
	
	
		
			 March 0 1 17 
			 April 0 2 12 
			 May 0 1 19 
			 June 0 0 17 
			 July 0 1 18 
			 August 0 1 18 
			 September 0 0 18 
			 October 0 0 18 
			 November 0 1 18 
			 December 0 1 19 
			     
			 2011    
			 January 0 2 16 
			 February 0 5 16 
			 March 0 5 20 
			 April 0 5 17 
			 May 0 5 16 
			 June 1 4 15 
			 July 1 3 16 
			 August 1 4 21 
			 September 1 6 26 
			 October 2 6 29 
			 Notes: 1. YJB data referring to secure training centres (STCs), secure children’s homes (SCHs), and under 18 young offender institutions (YOIs). This does not include 18 to 21-year-olds held in YOI separate units for which the YJB do not hold data. The figures from April 2010 onwards are provisional. 2. Young people are defined as those aged 10 to 17 years of age, however, some 18-year-olds remain in the secure estate for children and young people if they only have a short period of their sentence left to serve, to avoid disrupting their regimes (and are included in these figures). 3. The data comes from the Youth Justice Board’s Secure Accommodation Clearing House System (SACHS). These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and may be subject to change over time.

Young Offenders: Wigan

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many juvenile offenders from the Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council area have been held in a (a) secure children's home, (b) secure training centre and (c) young offender institution in each month since May 2005.

Crispin Blunt: The table shows the number of juvenile offenders (aged 10 to 17) either sentenced or remanded in custody attached to the Wigan Youth Offending Team in each month since May 2005.
	These data are from the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and refer to Secure Training Centres (STCs), Secure Children's Homes (SCHs), and Under 18 Young Offender Institutions (YOIs).
	The figures from April 2010 onwards are provisional. The final figures for April 2010 to March 2011 will be finalised in the 2010-11 Youth Justice Statistics publication on 26 January 2012. Data from April 2011 onwards will be finalised when the 2011-12 Youth Justice Statistics are published in 2013.
	
		
			 Table 1: Young people in custody attached to Wigan youth offending team by establishment type in each month since May 2005 
			 Month Secure children's homes Secure training centres Under 18 young offender institutions 
			 May 2005 3 4 13 
			 June 2005 4 4 11 
			 July 2005 4 3 9 
			 August 2005 4 2 6 
			 September 2005 5 3 12 
			 October 2005 5 3 12 
			 November 2005 4 3 11 
			 December 2005 4 3 10 
			 January 2006 4 3 9 
			 February 2006 2 2 11 
			 March 2006 2 1 11 
			 April 2006 3 2 12 
			 May 2006 5 1 10 
			 June 2006 5 1 10 
			 July 2006 1 1 14 
			 August 2006 1 1 15 
			 September 2006 1 1 15 
			 October 2006 3 1 15 
			 November 2006 3 1 15 
			 December 2006 3 0 14 
			 January 2007 1 0 16 
			 February 2007 0 1 13 
			 March 2007 0 1 13 
			 April 2007 0 2 14 
			 May 2007 1 2 15 
			 June 2007 0 2 14 
		
	
	
		
			 July 2007 0 2 14 
			 August 2007 1 3 18 
			 September 2007 3 1 19 
			 October 2007 4 1 17 
			 November 2007 3 1 14 
			 December 2007 4 1 8 
			 January 2008 2 1 10 
			 February 2008 1 2 11 
			 March 2008 1 2 15 
			 April 2008 0 0 16 
			 May 2008 2 0 17 
			 June 2008 2 0 17 
			 July 2008 0 0 17 
			 August 2008 0 0 13 
			 September 2008 0 0 19 
			 October 2008 1 0 22 
			 November 2008 2 1 15 
			 December 2008 0 1 11 
			 January 2009 3 1 8 
			 February 2009 2 0 9 
			 March 2009 2 0 8 
			 April 2009 2 0 9 
			 May 2009 1 0 10 
			 June 2009 0 0 8 
			 July 2009 1 0 11 
			 August 2009 0 0 11 
			 September 2009 0 0 10 
			 October 2009 0 0 9 
			 November 2009 0 1 8 
			 December 2009 0 1 8 
			 January 2010 1 1 5 
			 February 2010 0 2 7 
			 March 2010 3 1 9 
			 April 2010 4 0 9 
			 May 2010 4 0 9 
			 June 2010 2 1 9 
			 July 2010 0 1 8 
			 August 2010 0 1 9 
			 September 2010 1 1 8 
			 October 2010 1 1 9 
			 November 2010 0 0 6 
			 December 2010 0 0 4 
			 January 2011 0 0 3 
			 February 2011 0 0 4 
			 March 2011 1 0 6 
			 April 2011 1 0 4 
			 May 2011 1 2 8 
			 June 2011 1 3 8 
			 July 2011 1 3 7 
			 August 2011 2 2 5 
			 September 2011 3 2 6 
			 October 2011 3 1 6 
			 Notes: 1. YJB data referring to Secure Training Centres (STCs), Secure Children's Homes (SCHs), and Under 18 Young Offender Institutions (YOIs). This does not include 18 to 21-year-olds held in YOI separate units for which the YJB do not hold data. The figures from April 2010 onwards are provisional. 2. Young people are defined as those aged 10 to 17 years of age, however some 18-year-olds remain in the secure estate for children and young people if they only have a short period of their sentence left to serve, to avoid disrupting their regimes (and are included in these figures). 3. The data comes from the Youth Justice Board's Secure Accommodation Clearing House System (SACHS). These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and may be subject to change overtime.

Young Offenders: Wigan

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many young adult offenders aged between 18 and 20 from the Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council area have been held in (a) young offender institutions, (b) local prisons, (c) women's prisons and (d) other parts of the secure estate in each month since May 2009.

Crispin Blunt: All young offenders serving sentences of DYOI are held in appropriately designated YOI accommodation within the prison estate. The majority of this accommodation is in dedicated YOIs, although some establishments in the estate have a dual designation (designated both as a prison and a YOI) and hold both adult prisoners and young offenders.
	The following table shows the number of offenders 18 to 20-years-old with a recorded residential address or proxy in the Wigan metropolitan borough council area who were held in predominant function male young offender institutions, predominant function male local prisons, all female prisons and the rest of the male estate on a set day in each month where data are available since May 2009.
	
		
			 Number and location of male and female young adult offenders (aged 18 to 20) originating from Wigan metropolitan borough council area 
			 Location May 2009 September 2010 November 2010 January 2011 March 2011 May 2011 July 2011 September 2011 November 2011 
			 (a) Male young offender institutions 25 24 22 25 30 16 18 19 20 
			 (b) Male local prisons 5 <5 9 5 <5 <5 7 8 7 
			 (c) Female prisons 0 0 0 0 <5 <5 <5 0 0 
			 (d) Rest of the male estate 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	Information on offender's residences is provided by offenders on reception into prison and recorded on a central IT system. Addresses can include a prisoner's home address, an address to which offenders intend to return on discharge or next of kin address and these figures are provided in the table above.
	If no address is given, an offender's committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which they are resident. These figures are also included in the table above. No address has been recorded and no court information is available for around 3% of all offender's, these figures are excluded from the table above.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the relationship between geographic density of off-licences and alcohol harm in (a) young people and (b) adults.

Anne Milton: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published guidance in June 2010, ‘Alcohol-use disorders: preventing the development of hazardous and harmful drinking’, based on a series of evidence reviews. Evidence statements 2.21, 2.22, 2.24 and 2.25 summarise the evidence for a relationship between alcohol outlet density and harm in young people and adults..
	The guidance has been placed in the Library.

Cardiovascular System: Diseases

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to produce a cardiovascular disease-specific NHS Atlas of Variation in order to inform the development of the outcomes framework for cardiovascular disease; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: There are currently no plans to produce a cardiovascular disease specific NHS Atlas of Variation. The NHS Atlas of Variation 2, published in December 2011, contains maps showing variation relating to a selected range of problems of circulation where there may be significant unwarranted variation. A copy of the atlas has been placed in the Library. The purpose of the Atlas of Variation is to enable an exploration of the reasons for variation and support decision making to improve the outcomes and value of health and care, rather than driving the development of outcomes indicators or to provide a comprehensive description of all variation which occurs within the national health service.

Care Quality Commission: Manpower

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of staffing levels at the Care Quality Commission.

Simon Burns: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of essential levels of safety and quality of health and adult social care services.
	As an executive non-departmental public body, it is for the CQC to determine the appropriate staffing complement for its organisation, within its available resources, in order to carry out its functions efficiently and effectively.

Children

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department provided to (a) Action on Addiction, (b) Adoption UK, (c) the Adoption and Fostering Information Line, (d) the Child Bereavement Charity, (e) Well Child and (f) each of East Anglia's childrens hospices in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Department can confirm that funding was provided to the named organisations as follows:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Recipient organisations 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Action on Addiction 0 0 
			 Adoption UK 0 0 
			 The UK Adoption and Fostering Information Line 0 0 
			 The Child Bereavement Charity 39,900 0 
			 Well Child 0 0 
			 East Anglia’s Children's Hospices 1,406,927 748,567 
			 Total 1,446,827 748,567 
		
	
	It should be noted that funding for 2011-12 represents the latest allocations and additional funding could be allocated in the remaining months of the financial year.

Co-operatives

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps (a) his Department and (b) those bodies for which his Department is responsible are taking to mark UN Year of the Co-operative 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: We are aware of no specific departmental plans to mark this event. However, the Department is committed to supporting the creation and expansion of mutuals, co-operatives, charities and social enterprises and enabling these groups to have much greater involvement in the running of health and care services.
	For example, we are running a Right to Provide Programme which extends the right to explore the opportunities of setting up a staff-led enterprise, including mutuals, joint ventures, partnerships and social enterprise, to the wider national health service and social care communities. The Social Enterprise Investment Fund has invested more than £80 million in the health and social care sector and applications for investments for 2011-12 are being progressed by the fund manager.

Departmental Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to sponsor apprenticeships in each of the public bodies for which his Department is responsible between (a) April 2010 and March 2011, (b) April 2011 and March 2012 and (c) April 2012 and March 2013.

Simon Burns: Three of the Department's arm's length bodies (ALBs) have incurred, or expect to incur, expenditure on apprenticeships. Details are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Amount of funding allocated to sponsor apprenticeships between: 
			 ALB April 2010 and March 2011 April 2011 and March 2012 April 2012 and March 2013 
			 Health Protection Agency 16,567 34,394 2,782 
			 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence 2,000 0 0 
			 NHS Blood and Transplant 195,000 (1)157,000 (1)250,000 
			 (1) Future costs are estimates and not firm allocations.

Departmental Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department allocated to sponsor apprenticeships in his Department in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and how much such funding he plans to allocate in 2012-13.

Simon Burns: The Department employs apprentices in two ways:
	appointing apprentices through external recruitment; and
	by offering existing staff access to apprenticeship programmes as part of their learning and development.
	The Department externally recruited three apprentices between April 2010 and March 2011 and April and December 2011. On completion of their apprenticeships in January 2012 the apprentices joined the Department. No specific budget was allocated to apprenticeships of this type, but the costs were £48,386 in 2010-11 and £34,348 in 2011-12.
	There are no specific plans to recruit apprentices externally in the coming year, but the Department is committed to providing development opportunities through apprenticeships.
	On internal apprenticeships, six staff participated in 2010-11. There were no costs to the Department as the scheme was sponsored centrally. No staff took part during 2011-12 so there were, again, no costs.
	The Department plans to sponsor five internal participants in 2012-13, and has set aside £10,000 from, its learning and development budget to this end.

Departmental Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many apprentices were employed by his Department between (a) April 2010 and March 2011 and (b) April and December 2011; and how many apprenticeships his Department will sponsor between (i) January and March 2012 and (ii) April and March 2013.

Simon Burns: The Department employs apprentices in two ways—appointing apprentices through external recruitment and by offering existing staff access to apprenticeship programmes as part of their learning and development.
	The Department externally recruited three apprentices between April 2010 and March 2011 and April and December 2011. On completion of their apprenticeships in January 2012, the three apprentices joined the Department.
	There are no specific plans to recruit apprentices externally in the coming year, but the Department is committed to providing development opportunities through apprenticeships.
	On internal apprenticeships, six staff participated in 2010-11. No staff participated in 2011-12. The Department plans to sponsor five internal participants in 2012-13.

Departmental Equality

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what equality impact assessments his Department has carried out since May 2010; and for what purpose in each case.

Simon Burns: The Department takes a proportionate approach to meeting its public sector equality duty which may not always entail producing separate documents called equality impact assessments. For each function or policy that has the potential to have a substantial effect on discrimination or equality of opportunity, officials consciously think about the three aims of the public sector equality duty as part of the process of decision-making and keep records showing how they have done so. Where it is clear from initial consideration that a policy will not have any effect on equality for any of the protected characteristics, no further analysis or action is undertaken.
	Therefore listing the number of documents entitled equality impact assessments produced by the Department since May 2010 would provide an inaccurate account of the work done to meet the public sector equality duty. An accurate account of the entire range of work carried out to meet the public sector equality duty across the Department can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	A list of documents entitled equality impact assessments that have been published by the Department since May 2010 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Date Title URL 
			 May 2010 Transforming Community Services Mobile Working Readiness Assessment Framework Tool http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_116849.pdf 
			 July 2010 Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS (White Paper) http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_117350.pdf 
			 July 2010 The Medical Profession (Responsible Officers) Regulations 2010 http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_117787.pdf 
			 October 2010 Liberating the NHS: Greater choice and control—Extending patient choice of provider http://www.dh.gov.uk/dh_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_128460.pdf 
			 October 2010 NHS Constitution–Whistleblowing http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_130538.pdf 
			 November 2010 A Vision for Adult Social Care: Capable Communities and Active Citizens http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_121666.pdf 
			 November 2010 Improving services for women and child victims of violence: the Department of Health Action Plan http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_122096.pdf 
			 December 2010 NHS Outcomes Framework 2011-12 http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_122955.pdf 
			 December 2010 PCT Resource Allocations 2011-12 http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_122617.pdf 
			 January 2011 Multiple Sclerosis Risk Sharing Scheme http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_123789.pdf 
		
	
	
		
			 February 2011 Expanding the list of “never events” http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_124988.pdf 
			 February 2011 Retention and Exit Terms for Business Case Critical Staff in PCTs and SHAs and (SpHAs, ENDPBs and Provider Development Authority) http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_124773.doc 
			 February 2011 Review of the Mary Seacole Scholarship Awards http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_125705.pdf 
			 March 2011 Safeguarding Adults: The role of health services http://www.dh.gov.uk/dr_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_125065.pdf 
			 March 2011 The Good Practice Guidelines for GP electronic patient records—version 4 (2011) http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_125352.pdf 
			 March 2011 The UK Influenza Preparedness Strategy 2011 http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_125342.pdf 
			 April 2011 Changing Behaviour, Improving Outcomes: A new social marketing strategy for public health http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_126924.pdf 
			 April 2011 National Heatwave Plan http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_127193.pdf 
			 April 2011 Transparency in outcomes: a framework for quality in adult social care http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_125692.pdf 
			 May 2011 Allied Health Professionals Service Improvement Project http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_126839.pdf 
			 May 2011 Health Lives Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_122242.pdf 
			 June 2011 Implementing the Overseas Visitors Hospital Charging Regulations 2011 http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_131943.pdf 
			 June 2011 NHS Operating Framework 2010-11 http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/@sta/@perf/documents/digitalasset/dh_110442.pdf 
			 July 2011 A new value-based approach to the pricing of branded medicines: Government response to consultation http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_128405.pdf 
		
	
	
		
			 July 2011 Consultation on Allocation Options for distribution of additional funding to local authorities for: Local HealthWatch, NHS Complaints Advocacy, PCT Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards http://www.dh.gov.uk/dr_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_129402.pdf 
			 July 2011 National Dementia Strategy http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_128525.pdf 
			 July 2011 The NHS standard contracts for acute hospital, mental health, community and ambulance services and supporting guidance 2011-12 http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_128191.pdf 
			 July 2011 Working for personalised care: a framework for supporting personal assistants working in adult social care http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_129407.pdf 
			 August 2011 End of Life Care Strategy: Third Annual Report http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_130271.pdf 
			 August 2011 Liberating the NHS: table of issues for the information revolution and related policies http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_129531.pdf 
			 September 2011 Health and Social Care Bill 2011 (revised) http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_129978.pdf 
			 September 2011 Proposals to introduce independent prescribing by physiotherapists http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_130059.pdf 
			 September 2011 Proposals to introduce independent prescribing by podiatrists http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_130033.pdf 
			 October 2011 Healthy lives, healthy people: a call to action on obesity in England http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_130511.pdf 
			 October 2011 Implementing a ‘Duty of Candour’; a new contractual requirement on providers http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_130442.pdf 
			 October 2011 Liberating the NHS: Greater choice and control—Choice of named consultant-led team http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_130451.pdf 
		
	
	
		
			 October 2011 Market entry by means of pharmaceutical needs assessments and quality and performance (market exit) http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_130845.pdf 
			 November 2011 A framework for technology enhanced learning http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_131063.pdf 
			 November 2011 Cold Weather Plan for England http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_131036.pdf 
			 December 2011 Management of HIV-infected health care workers http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_131572.pdf

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many special advisers (a) are in paid employment and (b) work in his Department.

Simon Burns: The names and salaries of special advisers can be found on the Cabinet Office website at:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/special-adviser-data-releases
	In addition to the three special advisers to the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), who are in paid employment at the Department, one of the advisers to the Prime Minister and one of the advisers to the Deputy Prime Minister, have the use of desks and computers at Richmond House.

Departmental Telephone Services

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of levels of compliance with his Department's directions to and subsequent regulations for strategic health authorities and primary care trusts on the use of non-geographical telephone numbers; and whether he is satisfied that the directions are preventing patients paying more than the equivalent cost of a geographical call.

Simon Burns: The Department has made no assessment of the level of compliance with the directions and regulations regarding the use of non-geographical numbers in the national health service.
	The Department issued guidance and directions to NHS bodies in December 2009 on the cost of telephone calls, which prohibit the use of telephone numbers which charge the patient more than the equivalent cost of calling a geographical number to contact the NHS. It is currently the responsibility of primary care trusts to ensure that local practices are compliant with the directions and guidance.

Disability: Children

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when the Government last undertook research into the number of deafblind or multi-sensory impaired children in the UK;
	(2)  how many children in England have been identified as deafblind or multi-sensory impaired in each of the last five years; and how many such children have received a statutory assessment.

Anne Milton: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care published the report “Registered Blind and Partially Sighted People—Year ending 31 March 2011, in England” on 1 September 2011. The report has detail on the number of people registered as blind or partially sighted by age group as at 31 March for the period 1982 to 2011. Information is not available for each of the last five years nor on the number of children who have received a statutory assessment. The report is available at:
	http://www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/blindpartiallysighted11
	The following tables show the number of people aged 0-17 years who are registered blind or partially sighted who also have a hearing impediment. The data is a snapshot of the position on 31 March 2006, 2008 and 2011 in England. It should be noted that the registration of blindness is voluntary.
	
		
			 Number of people aged 0-17 years registered blind who also have a hearing impairment, as at 31 March 2006, 2008 and 2011, England (1) 
			 Rounded number 
			  With additional disability of 
			   Of which:  
			  Deaf With speech Without speech Hearing impediment 
			 2011 50 20 30 95 
			 2008 70 45 30 80 
			 2006 70 35 35 55 
			 (1) Estimates have not been made where a council has not been able to provide the information separately for those with an additional disability, therefore the table contains the total only from those councils from which returns were received. Notes: 1. Data rounded to the nearest five. 2. Figures for 2011 are based on actual returns received from 150 councils out of 152. 3. Figures for 2008 are based on actual returns received from 145 councils out of 150. 4. Figures for 2006 are based on actual returns received from 128 councils out of 150. Source: SSDA 902. 
		
	
	
		
			 Number of people aged 0-17 years registered partially sighted who also have a hearing impairment, as at 31 March 2006, 2008 and 2011, England (1) 
			 Rounded number 
			  With additional disability of 
			   Of which:  
			  Deaf With speech Without speech Hearing impediment 
			 2011 55 25 30 90 
			 2008 70 35 35 120 
			 2006 50 25 25 80 
			 (1) Estimates have not been made where a council has not been able to provide the information separately for those with an additional disability, therefore the table contains the total only from those councils from which returns were received. Notes: 1. Data rounded to the nearest five. 2. Figures for 2011 are based on actual returns received from 150 councils out of 152. 3. Figures for 2008 are based on actual returns received from 145 councils out of 150. 4. Figures for 2006 are based on actual returns received from 127 councils out of 150. Source: SSDA 902.

Diseases: Health Services

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he plans to introduce an NHS specialised service for patients with (a) atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome and (b) other rare diseases;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that patients with (a) atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome and (b) other rare diseases can access the latest treatments.

Simon Burns: Ministers take advice from the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services (AGNSS) on which highly specialised services for very rare conditions should be commissioned once nationally. AGNSS is an independent stakeholder advisory group.
	Ministers are currently considering the recommendations from AGNSS for new services which will join the national portfolio from April 2012. Decisions are expected shortly.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if Public Health England will take steps to (a) collect data on or (b) estimate the total annual number of beds available in (i) NHS and (ii) voluntary settings to treat in-patient detoxification episodes in England;
	(2)  if Public Health England will take steps to (a) collect data on or (b) estimate the total annual number of beds available in (i) NHS and (ii) voluntary settings for the rehabilitation of chronic (A) alcohol and (B) drug misusers in England;
	(3)  how many non-statutory providers of residential treatment for (a) detoxification and (b) rehabilitation from chronic (i) alcohol and (ii) drug misuse are registered with his Department.

Anne Milton: Most, but not all, non-statutory providers of specialist residential drug treatment in England provide information on their services, including number of beds, on a voluntary basis, to a national online directory called Rehab Online, which is maintained by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse.
	Most residential rehabilitation services, and therefore beds, treat drugs and alcohol dependency. Information from Rehab Online currently suggests that there about 120 residential rehabilitation providers. However, these data are incomplete because they do not include data from all non-statutory providers. Data on the number of non-statutory providers of residential detoxification, and rehabilitation in England are not currently available centrally.
	The Department does not register treatment services as it is the Care Quality Commission's responsibility to regulate-all health and social care services, including all non-statutory providers of residential detoxification, and rehabilitation treatment in England.

Epilepsy

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department requires specialised commissioners to take account of clinical guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence when commissioning services for treatment of severe epilepsy.

Paul Burstow: Clinical guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence represent best practice and the Government expect commissioners to take them fully into account in their decision-making.

EU Law

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the regulations his Department brought into force through (a) primary legislation, (b) secondary legislation and (c) other means originated from proposals by the European Commission in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

Simon Burns: The Department of Health has brought into force the following secondary legislation in 2010 and 2011, which originated from proposals in the European Commission:
	SI 2010/1673: The Medicines for Human Use (Prescribing by EEA Practitioners) (Amendment) Regulations 2010
	SI 2010/1882: The Medicines for Human Use (Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2010
	SI 2010/2785: The Medicines for Human Use (Prescribing by EEA Practitioners) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2010
	SI 2011/915: The Medicinal Products (Herbal Remedies) (Amendment) Regulations 2011.
	There has been no primary legislation originated from proposals by the European Commission.

Eyesight: Children

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on holding a nationwide review of the availability and effectiveness of vision screening for children.

Simon Burns: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the national health service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation. The UK NSC is currently reviewing the evidence for school entry vision screening against its criteria. The work is at an early stage, but it is anticipated that the review will be ready for public consultation in the summer before a recommendation by the UK NSC is made to Ministers.

Eyesight: Children

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged between four and five had their vision screened at school in the latest period for which figures are available.

Anne Milton: The information requested is not collected centrally.

General Practitioners: Contracts

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has had discussions with the Scottish Government on its proposals for future arrangements for GP contracts in Scotland.

Simon Burns: Officials from the four United Kingdom Health Departments meet on a regular basis to discuss GP contractual matters. The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), also holds discussions with his separate counter-parts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from time to time on a wide range of issues.

Haemolytic Uremic Syndrome: Drugs

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of clinical trials of eculizumab in the treatment of Atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome; and what steps he plans to take in response to such trials.

Simon Burns: Eculizumab (Soliris) has undergone assessment for the indication of atypical haemolytic uremic syndrome via a Europe-wide centralised variation procedure. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, as well as the Commission on Human Medicines (UK) considered, and have recommended the granting of the extension of indication. Eculizumab is now licensed for the indication.

Health Services: Finance

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the maximum duration will be of interim funding policies developed by specialised commissioning groups; and whether he proposes that (a) patients and (b) clinicians will have a right of appeal against decisions by his Department.

Simon Burns: We are not aware of any interim funding arrangements currently in existence.
	During 2012-13, all money and accountability for the decision making processes for access to specialised services, will remain under the control of primary care trusts (PCTs). Specialised commissioning groups are joint committees of PCTs. This is therefore a matter for the local national health service.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients whose nationality was (a) unknown and (b) unrecorded were treated by the NHS in each of the last three financial years.

Anne Milton: The Department does not hold this information centrally.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) EEA and (b) non-EEA visitors were treated by the NHS without charge in 2010-11.

Anne Milton: The Department does not hold this information.
	Under European Union rules, European Economic Area and Swiss nationals temporarily visiting the United Kingdom can access treatment that is medically necessary free of charge under the national health service if they have a valid European Health Insurance Card. They can also access pre-planned treatment free of charge under the NHS if they have a valid E112 form. Under the same rules, the UK is entitled to be reimbursed by the home member state or Switzerland for this treatment.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department offers to GP practices on the registration of foreign nationals who seek emergency treatment while visiting the UK.

Simon Burns: Under the terms of their contracts, general practitioners (GPs) are required to provide emergency and immediately necessary treatment owing to an accident or emergency at any place in its practice area to anyone, regardless of whether they are registered or not (including foreign nationals). GPs are expected to exercise their clinical judgment as to what is emergency and immediately necessary treatment.

Hearing Impaired: Children

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in Somerset were identified as (a) totally and (b) partially deaf in each of the last five years.

Anne Milton: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of people aged 0 to 17 years on the Register of deaf or hard of hearing within Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset and North Somerset as at 31 March 2007 and 2010 
			 Rounded numbers 
			  2007 2010 
			  Register of deaf Register of hard of hearing Register of deaf Register of hard of hearing 
			 Somerset 40 85 * 5 
			 Bath and North East Somerset * 0 * 0 
		
	
	
		
			 North Somerset * 0 0 0 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are provided as in the original publications; numbers less than six are suppressed and represented as a ‘*’ on the table. Larger numbers are rounded to the nearest five. 2. Data on the number of people registered as deaf or hard of hearing in England was compiled from the ‘SSDA910 Register of People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing’ return; data were submitted every three years as at 31 March by Councils with Social Services Responsibilities (CSSRs) to the NHS Information Centre. This collection has now ceased; following consultation, in September 2011. 3. Under Section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948, Councils are required to compile and maintain classified registers of ‘persons who are blind, deaf or dumb and other persons who are substantially and permanently handicapped by illness, injury, or congenital deformity’. 4. Although there are no formal examination procedures for determining whether a person is deaf or hard of hearing for the purposes of Section 29, cases should be classified as follows: Deaf—those who (even with a hearing aid) have little or no useful hearing. Hard of hearing—those who (with or without a hearing aid) have some useful hearing and whose normal method of communication is by speech, listening and lip reading. 5. Since registration is voluntary these figures will not provide a complete picture of the numbers of people aged 0 to 17 years in Somerset who are deaf or hard of hearing. 6. People who are registered as deaf or hard of hearing that are also blind or partially sighted are recorded on the Register of Blind and Partially Sighted Persons (SSDA 902 form) and are therefore not included in these figures. Source: SSDA 910

Heart Diseases: Young People

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to reduce the frequency of incidence of young sudden cardiac death;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to make cardiac screening accessible to young people.

Simon Burns: In March 2005, the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease was extended with a new chapter that, provides models of care and markers of quality for arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.
	The Department works closely with national health service and charitable organisations such as Cardiac Risk in the Young and the British Heart Foundation to develop services aimed at identifying people at risk and providing them with appropriate counselling, advice information and psychological support.
	The Department supported the formation of the UK Cardiac Pathology Network (UKCPN) in order to provide local coroners with an expert cardiac pathology service and to promote best pathological practice in sudden death cases. A national database on sudden arrhythmic death was launched in November 2008 funded by the Department allowing UKCPN pathologists to record information on cases referred to them.
	The UK National Screening Committee who advise Ministers and the national health service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy, considered its policy for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy screening in 2008. The policy review concluded that the evidence did not support the introduction of screening. The policy is due be reviewed, again in 2012-13.

Hinchingbrooke Hospital

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to require additional inspections of patients services at (a) Hinchingbrooke Hospital and (b) other facilities operated by Circle Health by the Care Quality Commission.

Simon Burns: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. All providers of regulated activities must be registered with the CQC and meet the registration requirements.
	The CQC is responsible for developing and consulting on its methodology for assessing whether providers are meeting the registration requirements. This includes determining when and how providers are inspected.
	The CQC has a duty to ensure that any action it takes is proportionate to the risks to which it is addressed and is targeted only where it is needed.

Hospital Beds

Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department collects data on the number of acute care patients aged over 75 years who are delayed in being discharged from hospital.

Paul Burstow: This information is no longer collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	However, the last data that was published before 2011-12 for delayed transfers of care of acute care patients aged over 75 is shown in the following tables:
	
		
			 Delayed transfers of care of acute patients. National health service organisations, England 
			 Delayed transfers of care of acute patients—adults (75+) 
			   2010-11 2011-12 
			 Code Name Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 
			  England 1,790 1,610 1,769 1,806 — — 
			         
			 Q30 North East 67 45 50 49 — — 
			 Q31 North West 160 138 149 165 — — 
			 Q32 Yorkshire and The Humber 140 107 161 213 — — 
			 Q33 East Midlands 169 124 149 116 — — 
			 Q34 West Midlands 298 289 316 273 — — 
			 Q35 East of England 244 231 178 206 — — 
			 Q36 London 142 132 139 180 — — 
		
	
	
		
			 Q37 South East Coast 165 184 150 148 — — 
			 Q38 South Central 178 180 254 232 — — 
			 Q39 South West 228 180 222 225 — — 
		
	
	
		
			 Delayed transfers of care of acute patients—adults (18+) 
			   2010-11 2011-12 
			 Code Name Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 
			  England 2,356 2,195 2,347 2,392 2,241 2,352 
			         
			 Q30 North East 88 57 59 77 71 89 
			 Q31 North West 220 195 227 248 236 293 
			 Q32 Yorkshire and The Humber 183 169 194 281 254 230 
			 Q33 East Midlands 206 171 187 162 178 218 
			 Q34 West Midlands 415 436. 417 395 344 342 
			 Q35 East of England 287 281 212 247 239 236 
			 036 London 216 191 209 229 236 250 
			 Q37 South East Coast 206 227 205 176 205 210 
			 Q38 South Central 249 244 323 295 182 215 
			 Q39 South West 286 223 314 281 297 270 
			 Notes: l. Summary: An estimate of the average number of delayed transfers of care per day in the quarter by region. 2. Period: April 2010 to September 2011. Source: Department of Health: Unify2 data collection.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of hospital acquired infection.

Simon Burns: The Government have set a zero tolerance approach to all avoidable health care associated infections. The Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2012-13 (published 24 November 2011) reinforces our approach, and sets new objectives to drive further improvements in Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream and Clostridium difficile infections.
	The objectives seek to achieve a further 29% reduction in MRSA bloodstream infections and a further 18% in C. difficile infections by April 2013 (over the October 2010 to September 2011 baseline period). Those organisations with the highest rates of these infections will be required to make the largest reductions in 2012-13 with the aim to raise standards across the national health service for all patients.

Invalid Vehicles: Standards

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Pride Colt 8 mobility scooter is subject to a British Standards check.

Simon Burns: The regulation of mobility scooters, as medical devices, falls within the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), an executive agency of the Department of Health.. The Department has not commissioned any safety checks on any model of mobility vehicle.
	The MHRA does not commission safety checks on mobility scooters prior to placement on the market. Mobility scooters are Class I medical devices and, as such, the manufacturer is permitted to self-declare conformance with the Essential Requirements of the Medical Device Directives and apply a CE mark to their product. Once a manufacturer has CE-marked a medical device, then they are permitted to sell the product throughout the European Union. The Medical Device Directives require a manufacturer to report all adverse incidents involving-:serious injury or death, or with the potential to cause serious injury or death, to the MHRA (the UK Competent Authority for medical devices) through the vigilance system.
	The MHRA has received a number of adverse incident reports concerning the Pride Colt 8 mobility scooter, some of which relate to a failure of the gearbox transaxle unit and this resulted in a modification to the design in September 2010. Also, a more recent adverse incident report concerning the possible reliability of the electrical systems in damp conditions was received by the MHRA in September 2011.

Medicine: Licensing

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will estimate the (a) quantity and (b) monetary value of medicines that are awaiting Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency licensing for importation from the EU;
	(2)  if he will estimate the proportion of medicines awaiting Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency licensing for importation from the EU that are within three months of their expiry date.

Simon Burns: The commercial details of contracts between parallel importers and their suppliers in Europe are confidential and the Medicines and Healthcare product Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has no access to this information which has no regulatory significance and is not required information for the purpose of obtaining a parallel import licence.
	The decision to purchase stock prior to approval of a parallel import licence is a commercial decision which the importer must make after careful consideration of all factors including the available shelf life on the product. This information is commercially confidential and the MHRA has no access to it.
	MHRA has no plan to make any estimates relating to confidential planned trade.

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency: Finance

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the fee income was of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the most recent year for which figures are available; and if he will estimate the proportion of its budget this income represented.

Simon Burns: The statutory fee income of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the most recent year for which figures are available (2010-11) was £90 million.
	The proportion of its budget this income represented is 90%.

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency: Manpower

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the level of staffing at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency; and what assessment he has made of the ability of the agency to meet the needs of businesses within the industry.

Simon Burns: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has sufficient staffing levels to reflect business needs and respond effectively to the industry it regulates. Staffing levels are kept under constant review and are subject to the terms of the trading fund arrangements and broader Government policies on efficiency.

Mental Health Services: Standards

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of mental health provider quality accounts for 2010-11;
	(2)  if he will amend the guidance for mental health provider quality accounts to ensure mental health providers include performance against (a) Health of the Nation Outcome Scales, (b) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service Standards, (c) Care Quality Commission inspections and (d) the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation Framework in their quality accounts for 2011-12.

Paul Burstow: Policy on quality accounts is kept under regular review. In the light of recent experience, we plan to increase the standardised content in order to facilitate comparison between providers, to support external audit, and to improve provider boards’ understanding of the link between the quality of their services and the outcomes that matter to patients. The selection of indicators will be informed by the recently revised NHS outcomes framework. This mandatory reporting will apply to all NHS trusts and foundation trusts, including those that provide mental health services.

Mental Illness

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983.

Paul Burstow: The primary responsibility for ensuring the effective and appropriate use of section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 lies with the relevant local agencies. The Mental Health Act 1983 code of practice makes clear that locally agreed policies should include arrangements for effective monitoring of how, in what circumstances and with what outcome, section 136 is being used locally.
	The use of place of safety orders under section 136 of the 1983 Act also falls within the remit of the Care Quality Commission (CQC). In its “Mental Health Act Annual Report 2010/11” the CQC noted that the number of people detained under section 136 in England rose from 12,038 in 2009-10 to 14,111 in 2010-11.
	Source:
	The Health and Social Care Information Centre, “In-patients formally detained under the Mental Health Act 1983—and patients subject to supervised community treatment, Annual figures, England 2010/11” (October 2011.)

Mental Illness

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to (a) raise awareness of and (b) combat stigma about mental illness.

Paul Burstow: Over the last three years, Comic Relief and the Big Lottery have funded a major anti-stigma programme, Time to Change, led by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness and evaluated by the Institute of Psychiatry. The programme of 35 projects aims to inspire people to work together to end the discrimination surrounding mental illness. The programme is based on international evidence and engages with people with direct experience of mental health problems. Support for the programme has come from individuals, politicians, employers, sports organisations and national health service trusts, among others.
	As a result of people being made aware of Time to Change and subsequently being better informed about mental health issues, there has been a positive behaviour change. Time to Change have estimated that from phase one of their campaign, approximately 75,000 fewer people lost a job due to mental health discrimination in 2010 compared to 2008.
	Overall, public attitudes to mental illness are improving and people with mental health problems are experiencing less discrimination. Over the past two years, approximately 78,000 people with mental health problems who had contact with Time to Change have increased knowledge, confidence and assertiveness to challenge discrimination.
	Discussions with voluntary and private sector organisations have shown that there is an appetite for continuing and developing this anti-stigma programme. In the mental health strategy, “No Health without Mental Health”, we committed to supporting and working actively with Time to Change and other partners on reducing stigma for people of all ages and backgrounds. Departmental funding of up to £16 million has been earmarked to support the programme over years 2011-12 to 2014-15. Comic Relief have agreed to work in partnership with Government and provide funds of £4 million over the same period.

Mental Illness

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the budget provided to the NHS is allocated for researching the (a) causes and treatments of (i) schizophrenia, (ii) depression and (iii) other serious mental illness and (b) the psychological and social impact of mental illness.

Paul Burstow: Estimated spend by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in 2010-11 on directly-funded research relating to the causes and treatments of schizophrenia, depression and other serious mental illness, and relating to the psychological and social impact of mental illness is shown in the following table as a proportion of total directly-funded NIHR research.
	
		
			 2010-11 Proportion of total directly-funded NIHR research (percentage) 
			 Schizophrenia 1.7 
			 Depression 1.9 
			 Other serious mental illness 5.3 
			 Psychological and social impact of mental illness 1.6 
		
	
	In addition, the NIHR clinical research network provided national health service research infrastructure support to a wide range of trials and other clinical studies in mental illness.

Multiple Sclerosis: Drugs

Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts prescribed nabiximols between April and November 2011; and what quantity was prescribed in each such case.

Simon Burns: Sativex is the only licensed form of Nabiximols in the United Kingdom. It is classified in the British National Formulary section 10.2.2 Skeletal muscle relaxants, under the chemical name cannabis extract.
	Between April and October 2011, the latest month for which figures are available, 115 out of the 151 primary care trusts (PCTs) in England issued prescriptions for “sativex” or its generic alternative, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, that were dispensed in the community in the UK. The issuing PCTs and associated number of prescription items are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Number of prescription items for Sativex or its generic alternative that were prescribed in England and dispensed in the community in the UK, by PCT—April to October 2011 
			 Name Number of items (1) 
			 Barnet 5 
			 Bedfordshire 6 
			 Berkshire East 4 
			 Berkshire West 36 
			 Bexley Care Trust 30 
			 Birmingham East and North 5 
			 Blackburn with Darwen CTP 1 
			 Blackpool 11 
			 Bolton 4 
			 Bournemouth and Poole Teaching 10 
			 Brighton and Hove City 12 
			 Bristol 4 
			 Bromley 7 
			 Buckinghamshire 24 
			 Calderdale 19 
			 Cambridgeshire 13 
			 Camden 4 
			 Central and Eastern Cheshire 18 
			 Central Lancashire 22 
			 City and Hackney Teaching 3 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 6 
			 County Durham 44 
			 Coventry Teaching 4 
			 Croydon 17 
			 Cumbria Teaching 35 
			 Derby City 2 
			 Derbyshire County 7 
			 Devon 29 
			 Doncaster 1 
			 Dorset 13 
			 Dudley 5 
			 Ealing 14 
			 East Lancashire Teaching 11 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 14 
			 East Sussex Downs and Weald 4 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent 17 
			 Enfield 7 
			 Gloucestershire 16 
			 Great Yarmouth and Waveney 17 
			 Greenwich Teaching 14 
			 Halton and St Helens 8 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 7 
			 Hampshire 62 
			 Hastings and Rother 7 
			 Havering 1 
			 Heart of Birmingham 1 
			 Herefordshire 11 
			 Hertfordshire 13 
			 Hillingdon 13 
			 Hounslow 3 
			 Hull Teaching 7 
			 Isle of Wight NHS 1 
			 Islington 8 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 23 
			 Knowsley 7 
			 Lambeth 12 
			 Leicestershire County and Rutland 2 
			 Lewisham 12 
			 Lincolnshire 26 
		
	
	
		
			 Luton 9 
			 Manchester 13 
			 Mid Essex 14 
			 Milton Keynes 3 
			 Newcastle 2 
			 Newham 5 
			 Norfolk 20 
			 North East Essex 6 
			 NE Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus 1 
			 North Lancashire Teaching 30 
			 North Lincolnshire 5 
			 North Staffordshire 11 
			 North Tyneside 3 
			 North Yorkshire and York 25 
			 Northamptonshire Teaching 51 
			 Northumberland Care Trust 25 
			 Nottingham City 5 
			 Nottinghamshire County Teaching 15 
			 Oxfordshire 11 
			 Plymouth Teaching 1 
			 Portsmouth City Teaching 12 
			 Richmond and Twickenham 1 
			 Sandwell 16 
			 Sefton 3 
			 Sheffield 10 
			 Shropshire County 4 
			 Solihull 2 
			 Somerset 1 
			 South Birmingham 19 
			 South East Essex 22 
			 South Staffordshire 14 
			 South Tyneside 6 
			 South West Essex 17 
			 Southampton City 4 
			 Southwark 1 
			 Stockport 5 
			 Stoke on Trent 1 
			 Suffolk 16 
			 Surrey 57 
			 Sutton and Merton 7 
			 Telford and Wrekin 18 
			 Torbay Care Trust 4 
			 Tower Hamlets 5 
			 Walsall Teaching 6 
			 Waltham Forest 4 
			 Wandsworth Teaching 2 
			 Warrington 2 
			 Warwickshire 10 
			 West Essex 5 
			 West Kent 60 
			 West Sussex 61 
			 Western Cheshire 4 
			 Wiltshire 6 
			 Wirral 7 
			 Wolverhampton City 11 
		
	
	
		
			 Worcestershire 3 
			 Total—England 1,420 
			 (1) Prescriptions are written on a prescription form known as a FP10. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item. An item does not refer to the amount being prescribed and therefore an item could be a number of doses, a single vial or multiple vials. Source: Prescribing Analysis and CosT tool (PACT) system.

Muscular Dystrophy: Health Services

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements he has put in place for the implementation phase of the national neuromuscular work plan from April 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements he has made for the implementation phase of the national neuromuscular work plan from April 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: The national neuromuscular work plan is currently been consulted on prior to being finalised by April 2012.
	The 10 specialised commissioning groups that commission specialised services for their regional populations will be responsible for ensuring implementation of the national plan from April 2012 onwards.

Muscular Dystrophy: Health Services

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the recent audit conducted by Professor Michael Hanna at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of avoidable emergency admissions for neuromuscular conditions; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the recent audit by Professor Michael Hanna at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of avoidable emergency admissions for neuromuscular conditions; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: Reduction of avoidable emergency admissions will require improvements in services for neuromuscular conditions to be made at both a local and regional level.
	Currently, primary care trusts have the responsibility for ensuring that local services meet the needs of people living with these conditions. The proposed move to clinical commissioning groups will ensure that health professionals will have a greater responsibility for the commissioning of appropriate local services to better meet the needs of patients with neuromuscular conditions.
	During 2010-11, the 10 regional Specialised Commissioning Groups (SCGs) and National Specialised Commissioning team collaborated to produce a detailed work plan for improving the commissioning of neuromuscular services.
	A workshop to which patents, carers and support organisations were invited was held in December 2011. At this workshop the SCGs presented draft service specifications for neuromuscular services. These service specifications, which set out the standards of service that all neuromuscular patients in England should expect to receive, will be consulted on and then finalised by April 2012, when the SCGs will start to implement them.

Muscular Dystrophy: Health Services

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to appoint a national lead for Specialist Neuromuscular Care; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: In December 2011 the 10 specialised commissioning groups held a workshop to present their draft service specifications for neuromuscular services. At this workshop they announced their intention to appoint a national lead for specialist neuromuscular care. The Department is not involved in this appointment.

Prescription Drugs: Prices

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to extend the provisions for reimbursement set out in part VIIIB of the Drug Tariff to dispensing doctors when dispensing specials;
	(2)  what plans he has to extend the £20 fixed rate of reimbursement set out in Part VIIIB of the Drug Tariff to dispensing doctors when dispensing specials.

Simon Burns: Discussions between the General Practitioners' Committee of the British Medical Association and NHS Employers are ongoing. Once those negotiations have been concluded and Ministers have considered the outcome, an announcement will be made.

Social Services: Costs

Kwasi Kwarteng: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce the cost of social care provision.

Paul Burstow: Local authorities are accountable for delivering efficiency savings in adult social care, but the Department has worked with the sector to consider the opportunities to reduce costs. To this end, the Department has part-funded a programme of Adult Social Care Efficiency launched by the Local Government Association in November 2011.
	Furthermore, in November 2010 the Department published “A Vision for Adult Social Care” outlining a number of suggestions for areas where local authorities could make efficiency savings. Among others, these included:
	maximising the potential of reablement services;
	developing an integrated crisis or rapid response services;
	rolling out telecare support; and
	minimising back office administration.
	As a result of wishing to keep local authorities free of additional burdens, the Department does not collect its own data on efficiency savings. However, other sources including the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services budget survey suggest that efficiencies are being delivered successfully, without unduly affecting frontline services.

Telemedicine: Prisons

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of likely savings from increased use of telemedicine technologies in prisons;
	(2)  what plans his Department has to use telemedicine in the prison service.

Paul Burstow: The Department has made no recent assessment into the potential savings which could be made from an increased use of telemedicine in prisons, nor does it currently plan to promote the use of this technology within prisons.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) are currently responsible for commissioning health care in prisons and each PCT with a prison population should assess the needs of its prison population, review what services are required and how they should be delivered. Decisions on whether to use telemedicine technologies in prisons are made by PCTs and prison partnerships, not by the Department.

Visual Impairment: Driving

Rebecca Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) optometrists and (b) other medical practitioners inform (i) the police and (ii) the DVLA if they believe a patient to be unfit to drive.

Simon Burns: There is a legal obligation, under section 94(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, on the applicant/licence holder to notify, at any time, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of any medical condition, which may affect their fitness to drive.
	The DVLA publishes advice on the medical standards of fitness to drive in a booklet (At a Glance Guide to the current Medical Standards of Fitness to Drive) which is available to all general practitioners and health care professionals. It is also available for public use on DVLA's website at:
	www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/medical/ataglance.aspx
	While there is no legal obligation on doctors and optometrists to notify the police or the DVLA, they do have a duty of care, not only to their patient but also to the general public. The General Medical Council has published guidance on reporting concerns about patients to the DVLA or Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) in Northern Ireland. The College of Optometrists' Code of Ethics and Guidance for Professional Conduct (July 2011) quotes the General Medical Council guidance.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Allotments

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) allotment and (b) smallholdings authorities there were in the most recent year for which data are available.

Andrew Stunell: Information on the number of (a) allotment and (b) smallholdings authorities in England is not held by central Government.
	Allotment surveys undertaken by West Kirby Transition Town in conjunction with the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners show that there are 323 English principal authorities that manage allotments (county councils do not manage allotments) and over 8,700 parish and town councils (who are not covered by this survey). The survey does not extend to cover smallholdings authorities nor does it cover allotments owned by other public bodies, or by private allotment associations. The survey can be downloaded from:
	http://www.transitiontownwestkirby.org.uk/allotment_ surveys.html

Allotments

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what data his Department collects from allotment authorities.

Andrew Stunell: The Department does not collect any data from allotment authorities. Local authorities are responsible for keeping and managing waiting lists for allotments they provide. Information on waiting lists and the total number of allotments provided by local authorities is not held centrally.
	However, the Department does retain, via the national planning casework unit, information from local authorities on their disposal application cases that they are required to put to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the right hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles).

Biofuels

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment he has made of permitted development rights for (a) biomass and (b) anaerobic digestion; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: We are considering responses to a consultation which included proposals to introduce permitted development rights for the installation of flues for biomass systems on non-domestic premises and clarifying that permitted development rights are available for the erection of structures to house anaerobic digestion systems on agricultural and forestry land.

Business Improvement Districts

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many business improvement districts there are.

Bob Neill: The 'British Business Improvement Districts' website shows that there are currently 123 formal Business Improvement Districts across the UK.

Charities: Shops

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the proportion of retail sales made by charity shops in the west midlands in each of the last five years.

Grant Shapps: The Government do not hold data on the level of retail sales made by charity shops.

Departmental Manpower

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many speechwriters his Department employs at each pay grade.

Bob Neill: The Department currently employs one full-time speechwriter at pay band 7.1.
	I also refer the hon. Member to my answer of 12 December 2011, Official Report, column 482W, which outlines the savings my Department is making in the field of communications.

Empty Property: Shops

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to increase footfall on high streets with high levels of empty buildings; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the role of (a) charity shops and (b) local independent traders in (i) increasing footfall and (ii) supporting efforts to regenerate the high street; and if he will make a statement.

Grant Shapps: Mary Portas published her independent review of the high street in December. Her report addresses the issues raised of empty buildings, increasing footfall, local independent traders, charity shops and what needs to be done to develop more prosperous and diverse high streets. The Government are considering the recommendations made in the report and will publish their response in the spring.

Fire Services: Somerset

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the Memorandum of Understanding between Devon and Somerset Fire Brigade and Falck EMSUK Ltd on the ability of the fire service to discharge its (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory duties; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding.

Bob Neill: My Department has made no assessment on the potential effects of the Memorandum of Understanding between Devon and Somerset Fire Brigade and Falck EMSUK since this is a matter for the fire and rescue authority. We do not hold a copy of the memorandum.

First Time Buyers

Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to ensure that providing first time property buyers with a partial mortgage guarantee does not reduce access to the housing market for existing property owners.

Grant Shapps: My Department is supporting the industry-led new build mortgage indemnity scheme. The scheme will apply to new build properties from participating builders and will be available to all potential buyers, subject to appropriate underwriting and selection criteria. This will include existing property owners who want to move house and buy a new build property.
	Approximately 14% of transactions in England in 2010 were for new build properties. The scheme is intended to help builders to build more new homes, and support people to buy them.

First Time Buyers

Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has any plans to provide additional support for shared equity schemes for first-time buyers.

Grant Shapps: The Government provides support to first time buyers in partnership with housebuilders through the FirstBuy shared equity scheme. FirstBuy will help almost 10,500 aspiring home owners by 2013 with a 20% equity loan to purchase a new build property in England. The equity loan reduces the deposit required by purchasers enabling them to fulfil their aspirations of home ownership.
	Housing associations and other registered providers may offer equity loans through the Affordable Homes Programme until 2015, where they meet local needs and have the support of the local authority.

Green Belt

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department has taken to ensure that current protection for the green belt is not lost following the changes to the planning system due to come into effect in April 2012.

Greg Clark: The Government have clearly stated their commitment to maintaining the green belt, and the draft National Planning Policy Framework continues the same key protections as current green belt policy. Our proposed abolition of the unpopular regional strategies, through the Localism Act, will remove top-down pressure on councils to review the extent of their green belt. This was likely to affect more than 30 areas across England. Our revision to planning guidance on Traveller sites, currently in draft, proposes to strengthen protection of the green belt and open countryside.

Housing: Construction

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the proportion of new homes built on land classified as gardens since 1997.

Greg Clark: The following table shows the percentage of dwellings built on previously-residential land since 1997 which includes gardens and land on which dwellings have been demolished.
	
		
			  Percentage of new dwellings built on previously-residential land (1, 2) 
			 1997 11 
		
	
	
		
			 1998 12 
			 1999 12 
			 2000 15 
			 2001 15 
			 2002 15 
			 2003 16 
			 2004 19 
			 2005 20 
			 2006 22 
			 2007 27 
			 2008 24 
			 2009 28 
			 2010(p) 23 
			 (1 )As reported by Ordnance Survey, mainly excluding conversions. (2 )Includes development on gardens and after demolition of dwellings. Source: Land Use Change Statistics Live Table 221 
		
	
	Until June 2010, gardens were classified as brownfield sites, despite their contribution to the environment, biodiversity, and local character. In June 2010, the coalition Government amended the definition of brownfield sites to exclude gardens to give councils greater powers to prevent unwanted garden grabbing.

Housing: Construction

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2011, Official Report, columns 59-60W, on housing, what estimate he has made of the number of square miles of land needed for additional households by 2033.

Andrew Stunell: The Department does not estimate the amount of land needed for additional households. However, the Department publishes household projections, which are a trend-based view of the number of households that would form given a projected population and previous demographic trends. Local authorities should use the household projections as a part of the evidence base for assessing future housing demand, including the amount of land needed to accommodate that housing.

Housing: Students

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to increase the (a) quality and (b) quantity of student accommodation provided by private sector landlords.

Andrew Stunell: The current legislative framework already contains robust safeguards for all private tenants, including students. Local authorities already have extensive powers to take action against landlords letting poor quality accommodation. We are working closely with them to ensure that any barriers to them using those powers are lifted.
	At the same time we have seen a significant increase in the overall supply of private rented accommodation over the last few years: by 2010, the sector had expanded to house some 3.4 million households in England—an increase of one million since 2005. We have supported this increase by refusing to impose unnecessary additional regulation on the sector and encouraging increased investment. In the 2011 Budget, we announced changes to stamp duty land tax on bulk purchases and a commitment to look again at the rules on real estate investment trusts in time for this year's Budget. The recently announced independent review of barriers to institutional investment in the sector which will be led by Sir Adrian Montague will build on that work.

Landlords: Blackpool

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has (a) received representations from and (b) had discussions with Blackpool council on selective licensing for landlords.

Grant Shapps: The Department has received no representations and has held no meetings with Blackpool council regarding the selective licensing of privately rented properties since the general consent for introducing such schemes was introduced in April 2010.

Local Development Frameworks

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps local communities can take to secure revisions in the local development frameworks of local authorities.

Bob Neill: In preparing local plans, the Government are encouraging councils to conduct early and meaningful engagement with neighbourhoods, local organisations and businesses. Local councils are able to revise their local plans or prepare a new plan at any time. When they do so, they are required by planning law to consult on its preparation and local communities can take such opportunities to seek revisions. Councils must submit their plan for independent examination, and any person who makes representations seeking to change a plan must be given the opportunity to appear before and be heard by the person carrying out the examination.
	The Localism Act 2011 provides significant new powers for communities to prepare their own neighbourhood plan for their area. A neighbourhood plan would become a part of the statutory development plan following consultation, independent examination and a successful referendum, and form part of the basis of decisions on planning applications.

Local Government Act 1972

Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to bring forward his proposal to repeal section 150(5) of the Local Government Act 1972 for approval.

Grant Shapps: We plan to publish a consultation document proposing the repeal of section 150(5) shortly. We will be proposing procedures for implementing the repeal that will ensure that parish councils have the benefit of this important reform as quickly as possible.

Local Government Finance: Housing

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what methodology his Department used to determine the level of top-slicing from the 2012-13 Formula Grant to fund the most recent new homes bonus allocations.

Bob Neill: We have allocated almost £1 billion of additional funding to support the new homes bonus over the spending review period, including £250 million for payments in 2012-13, with the rest due to be top-sliced from formula grant. As there was a two year formula grant settlement, in November 2010 we needed to estimate the size of the top-slice. The new homes bonus is based on the annual net increase in the stock of housing that is in use. It is therefore dependent on the change in net additions, long-term empty homes and council tax distribution of those units, plus a premium for affordable housing. Our estimate was based on historical data for each of these components. The provisional new homes bonus allocations in 2012-13 total £431 million, £5 million more than estimated, largely due to higher numbers of long-term empty properties being brought back into use. The remaining £5 million will come from DCLG departmental expenditure limit, but will be reclaimed from Local Government resource in 2013-14.

Mortgages

Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether lending decisions made under the New Build scheme will be audited to ensure that lenders maintain high standards of lending;
	(2)  how any risk to the public purse will be minimised in the context of the Government's mortgage indemnity guarantee;
	(3)  what processes will be put in place to ensure that lenders maintain high standards of lending for mortgage finance made available in the context of the new build scheme.

Grant Shapps: The Government announced their support for the industry led new build indemnity scheme, as part of the Housing Strategy. The scheme will help credit worthy households access up to 95% loan to value mortgages, for new build homes and flats. This will enable up to 100,000 families and young people to buy their own home.
	The Government are working closely with partners, including the Home Builders Federation, Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Financial Services Authority to finalise the scheme's design. As a requirement of the scheme, mortgage approvals made available will remain subject to current regulatory requirements and lenders' existing approval criteria. In addition, the final scheme design will be agreed with the Financial Services Authority.
	Monitoring arrangements will be put in place take account of the scheme's impact. The Government will also conduct an evaluation of the scheme after two years, to ensure that there has been an appropriate and positive effect on the price, demand and supply of new build properties.

Piers: Redcar and Cleveland

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will provide funding for an additional traditional pier in Redcar and Cleveland.

Bob Neill: holding answer 12 January 2012
	The development of new piers is a matter for local authorities and their partners. I would note that there are a number of funding schemes supported by the Government which may potentially assist regeneration in seaside towns, including the coastal communities fund, the European regional development fund and the regional growth fund.
	I am placing in the Library a copy of the regeneration toolkit that has been published to accompany the Government's response to the Communities and Local Government Select Committee report on regeneration (Cm 8264, January 2012).

Piers: Redcar and Cleveland

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will provide funding for an additional traditional pier in Redcar and Cleveland for the purpose of promoting community cohesion.

Bob Neill: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him today, PQ 88845.

Planning

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the Government plan to publish their response to the Draft National Planning Policy Framework.

Greg Clark: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park (Zac Goldsmith) of 14 November 2011, Official Report, columns 661-62W.

Planning

Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that local planning authorities produce local plans for their areas in accordance with the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework.

Greg Clark: The National Planning Policy Framework aims to strengthen decision making at the local level and reinforce the importance of local plans. We are currently considering the responses to the consultation on the draft Framework. We are committed to working closely with local councils and the Planning Inspectorate to ensure that appropriate transitional arrangements are in place to support the implementation of the Framework.

Planning Permission: Leiston

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the proposal by Leiston-cum-Sizewell Town Council that those applying for planning permission for a large development in a town or parish council area should (a) attend town and parish council meetings regarding the application and (b) fund an independent assessment of the effect of the application if requested by the town or parish council; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: holding answer 19 December 2011
	Consideration is still being given to the suggestion made by Leiston-cum-Sizewell Town Council. I would note that the Localism Act will introduce compulsory pre-application consultation on large-scale planning applications between prospective developers and local communities.

Public Houses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the contribution of public houses to community life.

Bob Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government has not made a formal assessment of the contribution of public houses to community life.
	However, the Government firmly believes that well-run community pubs contribute not only to the local economy but also to the well-being of the local community, as they are social hubs bringing communities together and encouraging wider social action.

Rents

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average rent as a proportion of average income was for people living in (a) social housing, (b) other affordable housing and (c) private rented accommodation in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Stunell: It is estimated that, in England in 2009-10, the average rent as a proportion of the average income (excluding housing benefit) of (a) households in the social rented sector was 23%; and (c) households in the private rented sector was 25%. If housing benefit is included in the calculations of average income the proportions were 20% and 24% respectively. Data are not available for (b) other affordable housing.
	These estimates are based on data from the 2009-10 English Housing Survey.

Social Rented Housing

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the annual cost of tenancy fraud in social housing.

Grant Shapps: The National Fraud Authority estimates that tenancy fraud costs around £900 million per year. Replacing the social homes that are being unlawfully occupied—to house those who have effectively been displaced by tenancy fraudsters—would cost several billion pounds.
	On 11 January, I issued a consultation which proposes measures that would increase the deterrent to tenants considering cheating the system, enable those who do cheat to be detected more easily and punished more severely, and encourage social landlords to take a more proactive approach to tackling social housing fraud. This will help to free up valuable social homes that can then be allocated to those in greatest need.
	The consultation closes on 4 April 2012.

Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what provision his Department has made for the payment of salaries paid by Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation after 31 March 2012.

Bob Neill: The running costs budget for the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Commission to cover final winding-up activity in 2012-13 is £760,000. This includes provision for payment of salaries after 31 March 2012.

Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many board meetings the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation has held since 1 April 2011; and how many such meetings are scheduled.

Bob Neill: Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation has held six board meetings since 1 April 2011 (to 31 December 2011); and four more are scheduled between 1 January 2012 and the Corporation's dissolution.

Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the name is of each board member of the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation; on how many occasions each has attended a meeting of the board since 1 April 2011; and what salary has been or is to be paid to each in respect of the period from 1 April 2011 until dissolution of the corporation.

Bob Neill: The requested information can be found in the following table.
	
		
			 Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation board member attendance and salaries 
			 Name of board member Attendance out of six board meetings held between 1 April 2011 to end December 2011 Salary for 16 months from 1 April to 31 July 2012 (£) Comments 
			 Will McKee (Chair) 6 out of 6 65,196.00 Term of office ends 31 July 2012 
			 Bill Samuel (Vice Chair) 6 out of 6 48,976.00 Term of office ends 31 July 2012 
			 Sunny Crouch 6 out of 6 16,485.33 Term of office ends 31 July 2012 
			 Councillor Garry Hague 5 out of 6 9,273.00 Term of office ended 31 December 2011 
			 Councillor John Kent 5 out of 6 16,485.33 Term of office ends 31 July 2012 
			 Chris Paveley 5 out of 6 16,485.33 Term of office ends 31 July 2012 
			 Richard Reynolds 4 out of 6 16,485.33 Term of office ends 31 July 2012 
			 Martin Leigh-Pollitt 4 out of 6 12,364.00 Term of office ends 31 March 2012 
			 Councillor Philip Anderson Not board member until 1 January 2012 7,212.33 Term of office from 1 January 2012 to 31 July 2012

Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what land assets are to be transferred to Thurrock council by the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation; and what estimate he has made of the monetary value of the assets.

Bob Neill: The land assets currently held by the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation are detailed in the following schedule; at 31 March 2011 (the date of their latest valuation) the monetary value of the assets in the Corporation's accounts was £56,749,000. If the Corporation's land ownership does not change before 31 March 2012, £56,749,000 would reflect the value of the land to be transferred to Thurrock council. However, this position is subject to change before 31 March 2012 as the Corporation is currently in the process of disposing of some of its land holdings, and acquiring others, as part of its continuing regeneration activity.
	
		
			 Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation property in current ownership 
			 Property name Address 
			 Purfleet Industrial Park Unit 41/42/43, RM15 4YF 
			 Purfleet Industrial Park Unit 40, RM15 4YF 
			 Wincanton Site Botany Quarry, Purfleet, RM19 1SR 
			 Tank Clean Botany Quarry, Purfleet, RM19 1SR 
			 Apex Site Botany Quarry, Purfleet, RM19 1SR 
			 EEEDA Site Botany Quarry, Purfleet, RM19 1SR 
			 CM Vintners Botany Quarry, Purfleet, RM19 1SR 
			 Killoughery Site Botany Quarry, Purfleet, RM19 1SR 
			 Carter and Ward Botany Quarry, Purfleet, RM19 1SR 
			 Hanson Boral Edenhall Botany Quarry, Purfleet, RM19 1SR 
			 Vopak London Road, Purfleet, RM19 1LX 
			 Corys Wharf London Road, Purfleet, RM19 1LX 
			 Smurfit Kappa London Road, Purfleet, RM19 1LX 
			 11 Botany Cottages London Road, Purfleet, RM19 1LX 
			 3 Railway Cottages London Road, Purfleet, RM19 1LX 
			 SGS London Road, Purfleet, RM19 1PS 
			 Cornwall House London Road, Purfleet, RM19 1PS 
			 MSK042 London Road, Purfleet, RM19 1PS 
			 Land Rear of 5/6 Botany Terrace London Road, Purfleet, RM19 1PS 
			 Kerneos Land London Road, Purfleet, RM19 
			 Schoolfield Road Part 2 Schoolfield Road, West Thurrock, RM20 3AE 
			 Schoolfield Road Queensbridge Ind Park Schoolfield Road, West Thurrock, RM20 3AE 
			 Site 5 Olivers Road Oliver Road, West Thurrock, RM20 
			 Lyndale Trading Estate London Road, West Thurrock, RM20 
			 William Ball Limited Gumley Road, South Stifford, Essex RM20 4XX 
			 The Chase Cuttings The Chase (off London Road South Stifford) 
		
	
	
		
			 D and C Morgan Builders 469 London Road, South Stifford, Essex RM20 4AD 
			 TA Centre Brook Road, Grays, Essex 
			 Crawley Grays Autos Hogg Lane, Grays, RM17 5QL 
			 The British Legion Club 78 High Street, Grays, RM17 6HU 
			 Marston House Grays, RM17 6HX 
			 RMG Hogg Lane, Grays, RM17 
			 Old Post Office 2-4 George Street, Grays, RM17 6NS 
			 Thurrock Park Way Tilbury, RM18 
			 Former LCR land—five minor plots Various locations

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Business: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprises have received assistance from Government schemes in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) the London Borough of Bexley in the last 18 months.

Mark Prisk: The total number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have received assistance from Government schemes is not available. However, information that is held at a constituency level on the number of SMEs supported under the Government's Solutions for Business portfolio, is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Product Bexleyheath and Crayford Borough of Bexley Comment 
			 Manufacturing Advisory Service 2 5 Figures are April 2010 to 30 September 2011). No MAS offering in this area between April to December 2011 inclusive 
			 Access to finance 6 14 These figures are for the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme only 
			 Collaborative Research and Development product 1 1 Refers to new grants awarded to SMEs, not total number of SMEs assisted and so numbers are underestimated 
		
	
	For other schemes under the Solutions for Business portfolio, such as Rural Development Programme for England, Helping your Business Grow Internationally and Work Place Training (including apprenticeships), Knowledge Transfer Networks, information is available only at a national level.
	In addition, Government have funded the provision of a range of online information and assistance to SMEs through Business Link, including a regional advisory service, which was supported by England's regional development agencies but closed on 25 November 2011. Information on beneficiaries by constituency and borough is not available so figures for London, provided by the London Development Agency, are set out as follows:
	London: 54,804.

Business: Cybercrime

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the level of risk of cyber crime faced by small and medium-sized enterprises following the roll-out of super-fast broadband; and what assistance his Department plans to offer to assist small and medium-sized enterprises in this regard.

Mark Prisk: In November 2011 the Government published the national cyber security strategy “Protecting and Promoting the UK in a Digital World”. The strategy makes it clear that the cyber crime threat to businesses is increasing and that there is a growing financial impact of information security incidents. While the Government are committed to delivering the best superfast broadband network in Europe, the roll-out of this will not in itself make small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) more vulnerable to online crime. But as SMEs increasingly turn to the web to deliver their products and services, they can become exposed to new threats. Maintaining confidence in e-commerce as a viable way of doing business is crucial. Investors, businesses, Government and customers each need to be confident that networks are safe to use if the UK is to realise its full potential for growth. It is then crucial that SMEs understand the risks of being online and know how to take action to protect themselves.
	The Government have therefore committed £650 million over the next four years to help protect the UK in cyber space, including £63 million specifically to tackle computer-enabled crime. The cyber security strategy sets out a key objective for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to:
	“make the UK one of the most secure places in the world to do business in cyberspace.”
	BIS and other Government Departments and agencies are therefore undertaking a range of actions to support business, including working to:
	Raise business awareness of the cyber threat and the actions they can take to protect themselves, including specific activities aimed at changing the behaviours of SMEs;
	Develop a single Government portal for the provision of advice on internet safety to the public and businesses, building on “Get Safe Online”;
	Create a single reporting centre to allow the public and business to report computer-enabled crime, including expanding the Action Fraud website;
	Create a specialist cyber crime unit within the National Crime Agency, building on the expertise of the Police Central e-crime Unit and the Serious Organised Crime Agency's (SOCA) e-crime unit;
	Create a joint public/private sector hub to exchange actionable information on cyber threats and strengthen our response to incidents.
	The full list of objectives and actions can be found in the cyber security strategy at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/news/protecting-and-promoting-uk-digital-world

Business: Finance

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will (a) commission and (b) publish an analysis by region of the data in his Department's finance surveys of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), indicating regional variation in SME's access to bank lending.

Mark Prisk: Following a consultation on business finance in summer 2010, the Government worked with the banking industry to increase the data available on bank lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As a result, the British Bankers' Association's Business Finance Taskforce has commissioned a quarterly independent survey of business finance. The SME Finance Monitor will include analysis by region in its first annual report due to be published in March 2012. The survey is based on interviews with 5,000 SMEs each quarter across the UK, and the annual report will have a total sample size of around 15,000 SMEs. The quarterly reports and forthcoming annual reports are publically available at:
	http://www.sme-finance-monitor.co.uk/
	The Government have no current plans to commission additional analysis on this subject.

Construction: Insolvency

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect on the construction industry of the provisions relating to payee insolvency contained in the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 makes minor technical amendments to the provisions relating to insolvency which were contained in the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. Having introduced a general prohibition on "pay when paid" clauses in construction contracts, the 1996 Act allows their use in cases of insolvency. This is to ensure that same conditions on insolvency apply in construction contracts as in other commercial contracts. A feature of the UK's insolvency regime more generally is that, broadly speaking, the same rules apply to all entities across the economy to provide an element of certainty and predictability as to outcomes in the event of insolvency for those contracting with such entities.

Credit: Interest Rates

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 29 March 2010, Official Report, column 819W, on loans, what progress has been made following the implementation of the Consumer Credit Directive on (a) tackling the effects of payday loans on those on low incomes and (b) removing credit licences and increasing penalties where there is proven irresponsibility by lenders.

Edward Davey: The Government acknowledge that there are real concerns about this type of lending and some of the practices that appear to blight this market. Payday lending is a key area of regulatory focus for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and it monitors the market for evidence of consumer detriment. The OFT has taken enforcement action against a number of companies in the payday loan market for breaches of its guidance but as the market has increased in size it has seen an increase in reported consumer harm. In light of the concerns about this market the OFT will be launching a comprehensive compliance review of its Irresponsible Lending Guidance that will specifically target the payday lending market. The review will focus on identifying those practices that are the cause of most harm to consumers and the findings will be used to take further enforcement action and drive up standards in this market. The OFT will also be increasing its scrutiny of applications for consumer credit licenses by those wishing to engage in this form of lending.

Departmental Manpower

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many speechwriters his Department employs at each pay grade.

Edward Davey: The Department employs two speechwriters, both at Grade 7.

Departmental Work Experience

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what guidelines his Department issues to its non-departmental public bodies on the employment of unpaid interns.

Edward Davey: The Department has not issued specific advice to its non-departmental public bodies on the employment of paid interns but if advice is sought from the Department, non-departmental public bodies are referred to "The Common Best Practice Guide for High Quality Internships" published by the Gateways to the Professions Collaborative Forum, a copy of which can be found on the BIS website:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/higher-education/docs/c/11-1068-common-best-practice-code-for-quality-internships.pdf

Employment Tribunals Service

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to (a) increase the period of employment required before an employee can claim unfair dismissal, (b) introduce protected conversations not open to legal scrutiny and (c) remove Tribunal members with employment experience.

Edward Davey: We will bring forward legislation to increase the qualification period for unfair dismissal from one to two years, and to allow employment judges to sit alone in unfair dismissal cases, shortly. We announced in November 2011 our intention to consult on the introduction of protected conversations. We are currently considering the detail of proposals and will consult on them later this year.

EU Grants and Loans

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate has been made of the total amount of funding made available to each UK region through the (a) European social fund and (b) EU Competitiveness and Employment programme in each of the last five years.

Mark Prisk: EU structural and cohesion funds (SCFs) are made available in seven-year funding periods. The current funding period runs from 2007-13. The allocations to the UK for the period 2007-13 are set out as follows. The figures include the European social fund (ESF); the European regional development fund (ERDF) Regional Competitiveness and Employment (RCE) programme allocation; and the ERDF Convergence programme allocation, for a complete picture.
	
		
			 Country Operational programme Fund Allocation (€ million) 
			 England North West—RCE ERDF 755.8 
			 England Yorkshire and Humber—RCE ERDF 533.6 
			 England North East—RCE ERDF 375.7 
			 England East Midlands—RCE ERDF 268.5 
			 England West Midlands—RCE ERDF 399.9 
			 England East of England—RCE ERDF 111.0 
			 England London—RCE ERDF 181.9 
			 England South East—RCE ERDF 23.7 
			 England South West—RCE ERDF 124.7 
			 England Cornwall and Isles of Scilly—Convergence ERDF 458.1 
			 Total England   3,282.9 
			     
			 Wales West Wales and Valleys—Convergence ERDF 1,250.4 
			 Wales Rest of Wales—RCE ERDF 72.4 
			 Total Wales   1,322.8 
			     
			 Scotland Highlands and Islands—RCE ERDF 121.8 
			 Scotland Lowlands and Uplands—RCE ERDF 376.0 
			 Total Scotland   497.8 
			     
			 Northern Ireland RCE ERDF 306.8 
			     
			 Gibraltar RCE ERDF 5.8 
			 Total UK RCE and Convergence ERDF 5,416.1 
			     
			 England and Gibraltar Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ESF 196.4 
			 England and Gibraltar Rest of England and Gibraltar ESF 2,893.5 
			 Total England and Gibraltar   3,089.9 
			     
			 Wales West Wales and Valleys ESF 833.6 
			 Wales Rest of Wales ESF 63.6 
			 Total Wales   897.2 
			     
			 Scotland Highlands and Islands ESF 52.2 
			 Scotland Lowlands and Uplands ESF 269.9 
			 Total Scotland   322.1 
			     
			 Northern Ireland  ESF 165.8 
			 Total UK  ESF 4,475.0 
			 Total UK SCFs Allocation ERDF and ESF (1)9,891 
			 (1) Figure takes account of rounding up of figures above. 
		
	
	This table does not include an additional €722 million ERDF funding allocated to transnational programmes (Interreg and PEACE) rather than to specific regionally-based UK-only programmes.

EU Grants and Loans: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of EU funding allocated to be spent in Northern Ireland was (a) passed on as additional funding to the Northern Ireland Executive and (b) retained by the Exchequer in each of the last five years.

Mark Prisk: Northern Ireland receives EU funds from a number of different programmes within the EU budget. The terms and conditions of these funds vary depending on intended purpose. Some of these programmes are operated on a competitive basis and will result in direct contracts between the EU and bodies in Northern Ireland. 100% of the UK's EU funding allocated to be spent in Northern Ireland is in turn allocated to the Northern Ireland Executive. No funding is retained by the Exchequer.

Executives: Pay

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  which sections of companies legislation he plans to amend to bring into force his proposals on executive pay;
	(2)  whether he considers that primary legislation will be required to bring into force his proposals on executive pay.

Edward Davey: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), will be making an announcement to Parliament in due course.

Foreign Companies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) manufacturing and (b) service businesses have relocated abroad in each year for which figures are available.

Mark Prisk: There are no suitable data available with which to answer this question. The Office for National Statistics stores and compiles data on the number of births, deaths and the stock of businesses in the UK but has no comparable data on companies' activities abroad.

Higher Education: Admissions

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of home students in England initially enrolled (a) on a science degree switched to either an arts or social science degree and (b) on an arts degree switched to a science degree in each year since 2005.

David Willetts: This information is not held centrally.

Higher Education: North East

Stuart Bell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many UCAS applications had been submitted by residents in (a) Middlesbrough constituency, (b) Middlesbrough borough, (c) the Tees Valley and (d) the North East in the 2011-12 admissions cycle by 19 December 2011; and how many such applications had been submitted on the same date in the 2010-11 admissions cycle.

David Willetts: The latest information is in the following table and has been provided by the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS).
	UCAS have stated that year-on-year changes for all courses at this early stage in the cycle are often different from the position later in the cycle, and that it is too early in the cycle to extrapolate applicant volumes forward. The second table includes only those applicants who applied to courses with a deadline of 15 October. The main deadline for the majority of UCAS courses is 15 January.
	
		
			 All applicants to UCAS as at 19 December by parliamentary constituency/region 
			  Application cycle 
			 Area of domicile 2010-11 (1) 2011-12 (2) 
			 Middlesbrough constituency 332 300 
			 The borough of Middlesbrough(3) 332 300 
			 The Tees Valley 3,205 2,772 
			 The North East 11,284 10,103 
			 (1) Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2011, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2012. (2) Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2012, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2013. (3) The borough of Middlesbrough has been defined as Middlesbrough constituency. 
		
	
	
		
			 On time applicants to courses with a 15 October deadline (1)  by parliamentary constituency/region 
			  Application cycle 
			 Area of domicile 2010-11 (2) 2011-12 (3) 
			 Middlesbrough constituency 23 18 
			 The borough of Middlesbrough(4) 23 18 
			 The Tees Valley(5) 240 217 
			 The North East 1,131 1,073 
			 (1) These are courses in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science, and courses at Oxbridge. (2) Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2011, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2012. (3) Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2012, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2013. (4) The borough of Middlesbrough has been defined as Middlesbrough constituency. (5) Revised figures. These correct the figures provided in PQs 84160 and 84356 (254 for 2010-11 and 227 for 2011-120). The figures for the Tees Valley include the constituencies of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar, Stockton North, Stockton South, Darlington, and Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.

Insolvency

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to initiate a consultation on the behaviour of suppliers involved in insolvency cases.

Edward Davey: The Government have previously announced that they would consider the case for updating Section 233 of the Insolvency Act 1986 and the wider issue of termination clauses. BIS officials are currently looking into the evidence and the possible options. This consideration includes the implications for all companies, not just those in insolvency, including any 'knock on' insolvency risk for suppliers. We will then decide how to proceed.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect on employment in East Lancashire of the decision by the government of Japan to choose to procure the F35 Joint Strike Fighter;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with BAE Systems on the decision of the government of Japan to choose to procure the F35 Joint Strike Fighter;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with the government of Japan on the Eurofighter.

Mark Prisk: Regarding discussions with the Government of Japan, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Coventry North East (Mr Ainsworth), on 13 July 2011, Official Report, column 408W. In 2011, there was cross government support for the Typhoon campaign by ministerial colleagues from a number of Departments in discussions with the Japanese Government. Since my visit in June, the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, my noble Friend Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, discussed Typhoon with Japanese Government officials during his visit to Japan at the end of October.
	The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has had no discussions on this matter with BAE Systems although the company has raised it with the Minister of State for Trade and Investment.
	No assessment has been made of the effect on employment in East Lancashire following the decision of the Government of Japan to choose to procure the F35 joint strike fighter.

National Union of Rail Maritime and Transport Workers

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 14 September 2011, Official Report, column 1213W, on National Union of Rail and Maritime Workers, what safeguards prevent facilities provided through the Remote Access Project being used for political or campaigning purposes.

Edward Davey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 5 September 2011, Official Report, columns 341-2W. As previously advised, the grant offer letters for each project clearly sets out the terms and conditions and activity for which the grant has been provided and this does not include carrying out political objectives or campaign activity. All projects are regularly monitored and evaluation of expenditure is undertaken to ensure union activity falls within the scope of the fund.

Overseas Trade

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the challenges for British exporters arising from late payments and non-payment from customers in (a) Brazil, Russia, India and China and (b) other countries;
	(2)  how many businesses have reported to his Department that their financial position has been adversely affected by late payments and non-payment from customers in (a) Brazil, Russia, India and China and (b) other countries;
	(3)  what steps he plans to take to address the issue of late payments and non-payment to UK businesses from customers in (a) Brazil, Russia, India and China and (b) other countries.

Mark Prisk: The risk to UK business of late or even non-payment can sometimes be greater when doing business internationally. Analysis for the International Business Strategies, Barriers and Awareness Monitoring Survey 2011, carried out by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), shows no significant difference in getting paid and enforcing contracts in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) as opposed to other countries. 24% of businesses stated that they faced difficulties in getting paid and enforcing contracts in BRIC countries, and in other countries 22% of businesses said they faced such difficulties.
	HM Government do not keep a record of companies reporting late payments in each market; however our posts in the BRIC and other countries report to us that they do occasionally receive inquiries from UK business, especially small and medium enterprises (SME's), about late payment and non-payment. UKTI and the Export Credits Guarantee Department address these issues in a number of ways, including:
	UKTI works with companies on the ground providing advice and support on the precautions to be factored in when planning an export strategy for entering new markets. It advises UK businesses that getting paid for overseas sales is a combination of them assessing risk, settling on acceptable payment terms and methods and considering insurance to protect a business against problems. To minimise the risks of non-payment, we also advise businesses that they should research the market conditions in their target country and the credit worthiness of potential customers before starting trading.
	Where businesses report to us specific instances of these issues we advise that the business seeks independent legal advice, and can provide contacts for this advice. On a case-by-case basis, where an issue is of significant value to the UK economy, of particular complexity, or affects the credibility of doing business in that market more broadly, HM Government may also be able to take this up with the appropriate bodies in that market.
	Complementary to the insurance cover available from the private market, the Government, through the Export Credits Guarantee Department, is also able to provide insurance against non-payment risks under its Export Insurance Policy, subject to the risk being acceptable and to compliance with its international obligations.

Patents

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on proposals for the introduction of a single EU court to adjudicate on patent disputes; and what steps he is taking to ensure that patent litigation in the UK is not adversely affected by such proposals.

Edward Davey: The Government support the creation of a European patent system that will bring real benefits for businesses, consumers and the economy. The current proposals includes creating a single unitary patent and a unified patent court which would deal with the unitary patent and existing European patents.
	We made significant progress towards making this a reality in 2011, and are working hard to ensure that the details of the proposals deliver the most effective arrangements for UK business and their representatives who will use the courts.

Regional Development Agencies: Assets

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2010, Official Report, columns 245-6W, on regional development agencies: assets, by what means his Department calculated the total valuation of RDA assets cited in his letter to hon. Members dated 18 November 2011;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of receipts expected from the sale of former RDA assets in each Government office region;
	(3)  by what method his Department estimated the level of receipts expected from the sale of former RDA assets.

Mark Prisk: The figure in my letter of 18 November 2011 indicated the value of RDA land and property assets transferred to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) on 19 September 2011 using end-March 2011 valuations. Some RDA assets were sold between 1 April 2010 and 18 September 2011. A small number of land and property assets are transferring to bodies other than the HCA. Details of receipts from the sale of RDA assets in 2010/11 in their respective regions are contained in the Annual Report and Accounts which have been laid before the House. The Department has not issued an estimate of the level of receipts expected from the sale of former RDA assets.

Regional Development Agencies: Redundancy

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 20 December 2011, Official Report, column 1201W, on departmental redundancy, what estimate he has made of the cost of redundancies at the regional development agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: Redundancy costs at the regional development agencies from April 2010 to June 2012 are currently estimated at £56.4 million. The final cost will depend on the number of staff resigning, transferring elsewhere or leaving for other reasons, prior to closure.

Skilled Workers: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to maintain and increase the level of manufacturing and research skills in the West Midlands.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 12 January 2012
	In 2010, the Government published the national Skills Strategy which covers skills for the whole economy. It is a demand-led model to help deliver the skills and training that business and individuals need.
	The model is not led by Government, but by employers and individuals themselves. The Government have provided them with the support, funding and information they need to make the right choices and shape the skills system to deliver what they need.
	The Government have been working to increase manufacturing and research skills in the West Midlands through programmes such as the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) and the Grant for Business Investment (GBI) scheme which have provided funding to a number of firms undertaking major investments in the region, such as Jaguar Land Rover, Ceram and Zytek. These will involve extensive training programmes. The Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative, announced in December 2011, will support investment in improved skills and training support as well as in research and development and capital equipment.
	The new Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) which was announced this month will provide a range of specialist assistance to manufacturing businesses across England, including linking SMEs with the apprenticeship programme delivering a minimum of 1,250 engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships annually. As one of the UK's main manufacturing regions the West Midlands is expected to be a major beneficiary of the new MAS.

Students: Loans

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the number of people who have been found to be ineligible for tuition fee loans having been previously informed by Student Finance England that they were eligible in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.

David Willetts: Student Finance England does not hold data in the format required to enable the Department to make a reliable estimate. A significant number of students routinely have their entitlement reassessed, and Student Finance England do not readily hold data which would identify individuals who have been found to be ineligible for tuition fee loans having been previously informed that they were eligible.
	Student Finance England may reassess an individual's entitlement to a tuition fee loan for a number of reasons. These include, for example, changes in university course, repeating study, or change in mode of study. Such changes can be identified through annual reassessments at the start of each academic year and notified changes of circumstances. Routine internal audit checks can also result in reassessments where errors are identified in students' declarations or in Student Finance England's processing of applications.

Students: Loans

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many higher education students in each parliamentary constituency were receiving a student loan in 2011.

David Willetts: Final figures for 2011/12 will not be available until November 2012. Final figures for 2010/11 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Number (1)  of England domicile HE students paid a maintenance loan in academic year 2010/11, by constituency, 31 August 2011 
			 Constituency (2) Country of constituency Count of customers 
			 Aldershot England 1,645 
			 Aldridge-Brownhills England 1,250 
			 Altrincham and Sale West England 2,455 
			 Amber Valley England 1,150 
			 Arundel and South Downs England 1,635 
		
	
	
		
			 Ashfield England 950 
			 Ashford England 1,640 
			 Ashton under Lyne England 1,435 
			 Aylesbury England 1,900 
			 Banbury England 1,765 
			 Barking England 1,795 
			 Barnsley Central England 880 
			 Barnsley East and Mexborough England 900 
			 Barnsley West and Penistone England 1,210 
			 Barrow and Furness England 1,145 
			 Basildon England 1,140 
			 Basingstoke England 1,640 
			 Bassetlaw England 1,095 
			 Bath England 1,840 
			 Batley and Spen England 1,105 
			 Battersea England 1,305 
			 Beaconsfield England 1,930 
			 Beckenham England 2,100 
			 Bedford England 1,690 
			 Berwick-upon-Tweed England 1,090 
			 Bethnal Green and Bow England 1,925 
			 Beverley and Holderness England 1,920 
			 Bexhill and Battle England 1,375 
			 Bexleyheath and Crayford England 1,415 
			 Billericay England 1,365 
			 Birkenhead England 1,180 
			 Birmingham, Edgbaston England 1,510 
			 Birmingham, Erdington England 1,225 
			 Birmingham, Hall Green England 1,435 
			 Birmingham, Hodge Hill England 1,005 
			 Birmingham, Ladywood England 2,175 
			 Birmingham, Northfield England 980 
			 Birmingham, Perry Barr England 1,925 
			 Birmingham, Selly Oak England 1,600 
			 Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath England 2,030 
			 Birmingham, Yardley England 925 
			 Bishop Auckland England 1,075 
			 Blaby England 1,730 
			 Blackburn England 2,295 
			 Blackpool North and Fleetwood England 1,530 
			 Blackpool South England 1,595 
			 Blaydon England 1,205 
			 Blyth Valley England 935 
			 Bognor Regis and Littlehampton England 955 
			 Bolsover England 850 
			 Bolton North East England 1,570 
			 Bolton South East England 1,475 
			 Bolton West England 1,710 
			 Bootle England 1,150 
			 Boston and Skegness England 1,055 
			 Bosworth England 1,405 
			 Bournemouth East England 1,365 
			 Bournemouth West England 1,105 
			 Bracknell England 1,965 
			 Bradford North England 1,435 
			 Bradford South England 1,395 
		
	
	
		
			 Bradford West England 1,715 
			 Braintree England 1,500 
			 Brent East England 1,900 
			 Brent North England 2,445 
			 Brent South England 2,140 
			 Brentford and Isleworth England 2,430 
			 Brentwood and Ongar England 1,625 
			 Bridgwater England 1,295 
			 Brigg and Goole England 1,250 
			 Brighton, Kemptown England 1,145 
			 Brighton, Pavilion England 1,870 
			 Bristol East England 1,165 
			 Bristol North West England 1,280 
			 Bristol South England 840 
			 Bristol West England 2,445 
			 Bromley and Chislehurst England 1,900 
			 Bromsgrove England 1,790 
			 Broxbourne England 1,385 
			 Broxtowe England 1,515 
			 Buckingham England 2,060 
			 Burnley England 1,530 
			 Burton England 1,610 
			 Bury North England 1,860 
			 Bury South England 1,770 
			 Bury St. Edmunds England 1,845 
			 Calder Valley England 1,890 
			 Camberwell and Peckham England 2,400 
			 Cambridge England 1,570 
			 Cannock Chase England 1,200 
			 Canterbury England 1,900 
			 Carlisle England 905 
			 Carshalton and Wallington England 1,865 
			 Castle Point England 1,015 
			 Central Suffolk and North Ipswich England 1,890 
			 Charnwood England 1,810 
			 Chatham and Aylesford England 1,365 
			 Cheadle England 2,165 
			 Cheltenham England 1,635 
			 Chesham and Amersham England 2,195 
			 Chesterfield England 1,305 
			 Chichester England 1,605 
			 Chingford and Woodford Green England 1,830 
			 Chipping Barnet England 2,405 
			 Chorley England 1,935 
			 Christchurch England 1,125 
			 Cities of London and Westminster England 1,150 
			 City of Chester England 1,695 
			 City of Durham England 1,405 
			 City of York England 1,620 
			 Cleethorpes England 1,405 
			 Colchester England 1,790 
			 Colne Valley England 2,015 
			 Congleton England 1,800 
			 Copeland England 775 
			 Corby England 1,660 
			 Cotswold England 1,610 
			 Coventry North East England 1,680 
			 Coventry North West England 1,690 
		
	
	
		
			 Coventry South England 1,740 
			 Crawley England 1,380 
			 Crewe and Nantwich England 1,450 
			 Crosby England 1,830 
			 Croydon Central England 2,420 
			 Croydon North England 3,200 
			 Croydon South England 2,420 
			 Dagenham England 1,590 
			 Darlington England 1,365 
			 Dartford England 1,455 
			 Daventry England 2,265 
			 Denton and Reddish England 1,240 
			 Derby North England 1,510 
			 Derby South England 1,970 
			 Devizes England 1,785 
			 Dewsbury England 1,220 
			 Don Valley England 1,235 
			 Doncaster Central England 1,285 
			 Doncaster North England 885 
			 Dover England 1,305 
			 Dudley North England 1,130 
			 Dudley South England 950 
			 Dulwich and West Norwood England 2,255 
			 Ealing North England 2,800 
			 Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush England 2,155 
			 Ealing, Southall England 2,675 
			 Easington England 1,000 
			 East Devon England 1,270 
			 East Ham England 2,885 
			 East Hampshire England 1,905 
			 East Surrey England 1,710 
			 East Worthing and Shoreham England 1,225 
			 East Yorkshire England 1,680 
			 Eastbourne England 1,365 
			 Eastleigh England 1,455 
			 Eccles England 1,330 
			 Eddisbury England 1,810 
			 Edmonton England 2,410 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston England 1,385 
			 Elmet England 1,470 
			 Eltham England 1,515 
			 Enfield North England 2,215 
			 Enfield, Southgate England 2,105 
			 Epping Forest England 1,550 
			 Epsom and Ewell England 2,045 
			 Erewash England 1,395 
			 Erith and Thamesmead England 2,265 
			 Esher and Walton England 2,115 
			 Exeter England 1,455 
			 Falmouth and Camborne England 1,575 
			 Fareham England 1,520 
			 Faversham and Mid Kent England 1,445 
			 Feltham and Heston England 2,050 
			 Finchley and Golders Green England 2,365 
			 Folkestone and Hythe England 1,310 
			 Forest of Dean England 1,245 
			 Fylde England 1,990 
		
	
	
		
			 Gainsborough England 1,550 
			 Gateshead East and Washington West England 1,210 
			 Gedling England 1,330 
			 Gillingham England 1,525 
			 Gloucester England 1,740 
			 Gosport England 1,200 
			 Grantham and Stamford England 1,895 
			 Gravesham England 1,415 
			 Great Grimsby England 1,235 
			 Great Yarmouth England 965 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich England 1,880 
			 Guildford England 1,935 
			 Hackney North and Stoke Newington England 2,065 
			 Hackney South and Shoreditch England 2,565 
			 Halesowen and Rowley Regis England 1,195 
			 Halifax England 1,475 
			 Haltemprice and Howden England 1,695 
			 Halton England 1,405 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham England 1,615 
			 Hampstead and Highgate England 1,490 
			 Harborough England 2,055 
			 Harlow England 1,125 
			 Harrogate and Knaresborough England 1,755 
			 Harrow East England 3,320 
			 Harrow West England 3,000 
			 Hartlepool England 1,375 
			 Harwich England 1,055 
			 Hastings and Rye England 1,230 
			 Havant England 1,045 
			 Hayes and Harlington England 1,710 
			 Hazel Grove England 1,370 
			 Hemel Hempstead England 1,675 
			 Hemsworth England 1,135 
			 Hendon England 2,845 
			 Henley England 1,750 
			 Hereford England 1,665 
			 Hertford and Stortford England 2,145 
			 Hertsmere England 1,985 
			 Hexham England 1,655 
			 Heywood and Middleton England 1,650 
			 High Peak England 1,825 
			 Hitchin and Harpenden England 2,155 
			 Holborn and St. Pancras England 1,560 
			 Hornchurch England 1,210 
			 Hornsey and Wood Green England 2,465 
			 Horsham England 1,990 
			 Houghton and Washington East England 1,260 
			 Hove England 1,525 
			 Huddersfield England 1,685 
			 Huntingdon England 1,845 
			 Hyndburn England 1,615 
			 Ilford North England 2,590 
			 Ilford South England 3,275 
			 Ipswich England 1,390 
			 Isle of Wight England 1,750 
		
	
	
		
			 Islington North England 1,745 
			 Islington South and Finsbury England 1,475 
			 Jarrow England 1,090 
			 Keighley England 1,530 
			 Kensington and Chelsea England 950 
			 Kettering England 1,850 
			 Kingston and Surbiton England 2,285 
			 Kingston upon Hull East England 940 
			 Kingston upon Hull North England 1,300 
			 Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle England 1,100 
			 Kingswood England 1,325 
			 Knowsley North and Sefton East England 1,580 
			 Knowsley South England 1,630 
			 Lancaster and Wyre England 2,050 
			 Leeds Central England 1,285 
			 Leeds East England 1,160 
			 Leeds North East England 2,200 
			 Leeds North West England 1,705 
			 Leeds West England 1,090 
			 Leicester East England 2,085 
			 Leicester South England 1,890 
			 Leicester West England 1,550 
			 Leigh England 1,305 
			 Leominster England 1,660 
			 Lewes England 1,375 
			 Lewisham East England 1,545 
			 Lewisham West England 2,025 
			 Lewisham, Deptford England 2,250 
			 Leyton and Wanstead England 2,000 
			 Lichfield England 1,485 
			 Lincoln England 1,365 
			 Liverpool, Garston England 1,675 
			 Liverpool, Riverside England 1,595 
			 Liverpool, Walton England 1,255 
			 Liverpool, Wavertree England 1,870 
			 Liverpool, West Derby England 1,515 
			 Loughborough England 1,590 
			 Louth and Horncastle England 1,415 
			 Ludlow England 1,305 
			 Luton North England 1,925 
			 Luton South England 1,730 
			 Macclesfield England 2,030 
			 Maidenhead England 1,825 
			 Maidstone and The Weald England 1,805 
			 Makerfield England 1,255 
			 Maldon and East Chelmsford England 1,400 
			 Manchester Central England 2,095 
			 Manchester, Blackley England 1,660 
			 Manchester, Gorton England 1,735 
			 Manchester, Withington England 1,795 
			 Mansfield England 1,130 
			 Medway England 1,250 
			 Meriden England 1,905 
			 Mid Bedfordshire England 1,850 
			 Mid Dorset and North Poole England 1,440 
			 Mid Norfolk England 1,460 
		
	
	
		
			 Mid Sussex England 1,805 
			 Mid Worcestershire England 1,615 
			 Middlesbrough England 1,395 
			 Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland England 1,535 
			 Milton Keynes South West England 2,060 
			 Mitcham and Morden England 2,100 
			 Mole Valley England 1,895 
			 Morecambe and Lunesdale England 1,345 
			 Morley and Rothwell England 1,225 
			 New Forest East England 1,190 
			 New Forest West England 1,305 
			 Newark England 1,475 
			 Newbury England 1,765 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne Central England 1,570 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend England 1,290 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne North England 1,280 
			 Newcastle-under-Lyme England 1,355 
			 Normanton England 1,205 
			 North Cornwall England 1,955 
			 North Devon England 1,470 
			 North Dorset England 1,650 
			 North Durham England 1,195 
			 North East Bedfordshire England 1,775 
			 North East Cambridgeshire England 1,230 
			 North East Derbyshire England 1,180 
			 North East Hampshire England 2,060 
			 North East Hertfordshire England 1,705 
			 North East Milton Keynes England 2,180 
			 North Essex England 1,450 
			 North Norfolk England 1,120 
			 North Shropshire England 1,635 
			 North Southwark and Bermondsey England 2,050 
			 North Swindon England 1,050 
			 North Thanet England 1,355 
			 North Tyneside England 1,155 
			 North Warwickshire England 1,265 
			 North West Cambridgeshire England 1,690 
			 North West Durham England 1,310 
			 North West Hampshire England 1,655 
			 North West Leicestershire England 1,335 
			 North West Norfolk England 1,120 
			 North Wiltshire England 2,210 
			 Northampton North England 1,395 
			 Northampton South England 2,165 
			 Northavon England 1,740 
			 Norwich North England 1,210 
			 Norwich South England 1,450 
			 Nottingham East England 1,335 
			 Nottingham North England 955 
			 Nottingham South England 1,255 
			 Nuneaton England 1,430 
			 Old Bexley and Sidcup England 1,475 
			 Oldham East and Saddleworth England 1,840 
			 Oldham West and Royton England 1,690 
		
	
	
		
			 Orpington England 1,780 
			 Oxford East England 1,615 
			 Oxford West and Abingdon England 2,020 
			 Pendle England 1,550 
			 Penrith and the Border England 1,485 
			 Peterborough England 1,440 
			 Plymouth, Devonport England 1,210 
			 Plymouth, Sutton England 1,880 
			 Pontefract and Castleford England 805 
			 Poole England 1,195 
			 Poplar and Canning Town England 2,470 
			 Portsmouth North England 1,050 
			 Portsmouth South England 1,420 
			 Preston England 1,570 
			 Pudsey England 1,555 
			 Putney England 1,375 
			 Rayleigh England 1,345 
			 Reading East England 1,655 
			 Reading West England 1,460 
			 Redcar England 1,305 
			 Redditch England 1,215 
			 Regent's Park and North Kensington England 2,170 
			 Reigate England 1,605 
			 Ribble Valley England 2,420 
			 Richmond (Yorks) England 1,650 
			 Richmond Park England 2,340 
			 Rochdale England 1,785 
			 Rochford and Southend East England 1,400 
			 Romford England 1,165 
			 Romsey England 1,880 
			 Rossendale and Darwen England 1,935 
			 Rother Valley England 1,130 
			 Rotherham England 1,040 
			 Rugby and Kenilworth England 2,140 
			 Ruislip-Northwood England 1,615 
			 Runnymede and Weybridge England 1,440 
			 Rushcliffe England 2,225 
			 Rutland and Melton England 1,735 
			 Ryedale England 1,450 
			 Saffron Walden England 1,930 
			 Salford England 1,165 
			 Salisbury England 1,845 
			 Scarborough and Whitby England 1,545 
			 Scunthorpe England 1,235 
			 Sedgefield England 1,325 
			 Selby England 1,790 
			 Sevenoaks England 1,505 
			 Sheffield Central England 1,490 
			 Sheffield, Attercliffe England 980 
			 Sheffield, Brightside England 835 
			 Sheffield, Hallam England 1,890 
			 Sheffield, Heeley England 1,160 
			 Sheffield, Hillsborough England 1,430 
			 Sherwood England 1,370 
			 Shipley England 1,945 
			 Shrewsbury and Atcham England 1,775 
			 Sittingbourne and Sheppey England 1,205 
			 Skipton and Ripon England 1,860 
		
	
	
		
			 Sleaford and North Hykeham England 1,815 
			 Slough England 2,080 
			 Solihull England 2,295 
			 Somerton and Frome England 1,740 
			 South Cambridgeshire England 2,215 
			 South Derbyshire England 1,735 
			 South Dorset England 1,200 
			 South East Cambridgeshire England 1,950 
			 South East Cornwall England 1,900 
			 South Holland and The Deepings England 1,320 
			 South Norfolk England 1,755 
			 South Ribble England 1,895 
			 South Shields England 985 
			 South Staffordshire England 1,565 
			 South Suffolk England 1,560 
			 South Swindon England 1,440 
			 South Thanet England 1,460 
			 South West Bedfordshire England 1,555 
			 South West Devon England 1,945 
			 South West Hertfordshire England 2,265 
			 South West Norfolk England 1,315 
			 South West Surrey England 1,985 
			 Southampton, Itchen England 1,195 
			 Southampton, Test England 1,225 
			 Southend West England 1,365 
			 Southport England 1,895 
			 Spelthorne England 1,165 
			 St. Albans England 1,915 
			 St. Helens North England 1,375 
			 St. Helens South England 1,335 
			 St. Ives England 1,715 
			 Stafford England 1,600 
			 Staffordshire Moorlands England 1,225 
			 Stalybridge and Hyde England 1,350 
			 Stevenage England 1,420 
			 Stockport England 1,540 
			 Stockton North England 1,325 
			 Stockton South England 1,915 
			 Stoke-on-Trent Central England 1,035 
			 Stoke-on-Trent North England 980 
			 Stoke-on-Trent South England 1,160 
			 Stone England 1,790 
			 Stourbridge England 1,305 
			 Stratford-on-Avon England 2,065 
			 Streatham England 2,385 
			 Stretford and Urmston England 1,910 
			 Stroud England 1,985 
			 Suffolk Coastal England 1,600 
			 Sunderland North England 1,005 
			 Sunderland South England 1,290 
			 Surrey Heath England 1,840 
			 Sutton and Cheam England 1,670 
			 Sutton Coldfield England 2,265 
			 Tamworth England 1,340 
			 Tatton England 1,770 
			 Taunton England 1,955 
			 Teignbridge England 1,800 
			 Telford England 1,025 
		
	
	
		
			 Tewkesbury England 1,730 
			 The Wrekin England 1,585 
			 Thurrock England 1,425 
			 Tiverton and Honiton England 1,830 
			 Tonbridge and Malling England 1,715 
			 Tooting England 1,650 
			 Torbay England 1,465 
			 Torridge and West Devon England 1,775 
			 Totnes England 1,640 
			 Tottenham England 2,755 
			 Truro and St. Austell England 1,945 
			 Tunbridge Wells England 1,840 
			 Twickenham England 2,330 
			 Tyne Bridge England 990 
			 Tynemouth England 1,630 
			 Upminster England 1,125 
			 Uxbridge England 1,400 
			 Vale of York England 1,825 
			 Vauxhall England 2,365 
			 Wakefield England 1,565 
			 Wallasey England 1,530 
			 Walsall North England 890 
			 Walsall South England 1,385 
			 Walthamstow England 1,970 
			 Wansbeck England 1,075 
			 Wansdyke England 1,625 
			 Wantage England 1,845 
			 Warley England 1,215 
			 Warrington North England 1,610 
			 Warrington South England 2,070 
			 Warwick and Leamington England 1,940 
			 Watford England 2,110 
			 Waveney England 1,195 
			 Wealden England 2,060 
			 Weaver Vale England 1,620 
			 Wellingborough England 1,590 
			 Wells England 1,810 
			 Welwyn Hatfield England 1,605 
			 Wentworth England 1,045 
			 West Bromwich East England 1,195 
			 West Bromwich West England 1,135 
			 West Chelmsford England 1,870 
			 West Derbyshire England 1,770 
			 West Dorset England 1,535 
			 West Ham England 2,365 
			 West Lancashire England 1,850 
			 West Suffolk England 1,145 
			 West Worcestershire England 1,685 
			 Westbury England 1,815 
			 Westmorland and Lonsdale England 1,525 
			 Weston-Super-Mare England 1,530 
			 Wigan England 1,370 
			 Wimbledon England 1,710 
			 Winchester England 2,315 
			 Windsor England 1,765 
			 Wirral South England 1,580 
			 Wirral West England 1,875 
			 Witney England 1,935 
			 Woking England 1,745 
			 Wokingham England 2,085 
		
	
	
		
			 Wolverhampton North East England 1,215 
			 Wolverhampton South East England 1,000 
			 Wolverhampton South West England 1,720 
			 Woodspring England 1,860 
			 Worcester England 1,535 
			 Workington England 1,130 
			 Worsley England 1,500 
			 Worthing West England 1,215 
			 Wycombe England 1,990 
			 Wyre Forest England 1,260 
			 Wythenshawe and Sale East England 1,560 
			 Yeovil England 1,315 
			 Other — 1,875 
			 Other Channel Is/IoM 55 
			 Other Northern Ireland 30 
			 Other Scotland 310 
			 Other Wales 415 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest five. (2) Constituency derived from home postcode at time of application in the academic year specified. Source: Data as per Table 4A(i) of November Student Support Statistical First Release for England

Vetting: Trade Unions

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to prevent the blacklisting of workers for trade union activities.

Edward Davey: The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010 make it unlawful, subject to certain exemptions, to compile, use, sell or supply “prohibited lists” (i.e. a blacklist). Data protection law provides additional protection against the misuse and mishandling of individuals' personal information.
	Individuals may take action to enforce the law through several avenues, such as complaining to the court or the employment tribunal about blacklisting, or by reporting a breach of data protection law to the Information Commissioner.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Belarus: Political Prisoners

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to provide support for imprisoned political activists in Belarus.

David Lidington: The UK is at the forefront of efforts within the EU and the wider international community to put pressure on the Belarusian authorities to release and rehabilitate the political prisoners. I have made clear in press statements and in this house my deep concerns about the health and welfare of the prisoners. These messages have been passed on directly to the Belarusian ambassador to the UK, Together with other EU states represented in Belarus, our ambassador in Minsk has asked for access to the prisoners on several occasions, to no avail. She has also made representations to the authorities about reports of the alleged ill-treatment of prisoners. In Belarus and in the UK we have been offering support to the relatives of the political prisoners. We will continue to pursue all means possible to press for the release of the prisoners, including by advocating tougher sanctions in the EU.

Belarus: Political Prisoners

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Belarus on the case of Siarhei Kavalenka.

David Lidington: We have not made specific representations on Mr Kavalenka's behalf to the authorities, but our embassy in Minsk is monitoring his situation and our ambassador in Minsk has discussed it with human rights activists. We have expressed our concerns on many occasions and in many fora about widespread human rights violations by the authorities. We will continue to put pressure on Belarus to respect the international standards which it is obliged to fulfil as a signatory to the key international human rights legal instruments.

Departmental Manpower

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many speechwriters his Department employs at each pay grade.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) speechwriting team consists of four civil servants, who serve the FCO ministerial team of six Ministers including the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague).
	There is one officer at band D, two officers at band C and one officer at band B.

Departmental Official Visits

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department visited in an official capacity in 2011.

David Lidington: Details of ministerial travel are published on the Foreign and Commonwealth website at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/publications-and-documents/transparency-and-data1/hospitality

Departmental Official Visits

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries neither received a ministerial visit or a meeting in London with Ministers or senior officials of his Department in 2011.

David Lidington: This information is not held centrally and would be obtainable only at disproportionate cost. Ministers and senior officials frequently meet counterparts from a wide range of countries across the world during the normal course of business.

Egypt: Politics and Government

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he (a) has had or (b) plans to have meetings with the leadership of the Freedom and Justice party in Egypt.

Alistair Burt: Our ambassador in Cairo met the president of the Freedom and Justice party in Egypt on 4 December. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has not met the leaders of the Freedom and Justice party to date, but the British Government will engage with all political parties who respect the democratic process and have a clear commitment to human rights, the rule of law and non-violence.

Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking at the UN in respect of Mercosur's closure of ports to vessels flying the Falkland Islands flag.

Jeremy Browne: As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), said in his written ministerial statement of 10 January 2012, Official Report, columns 5-6WS, we consider that the decision to close ports to ships flying the Falklands flag has no legal basis. While we do not accept Mercosur's announcement, our priority has been to ensure that trade and commercial links between the Falklands and South America are not compromised by this political declaration. Brazil, Chile and Uruguay have told us that all Falklands-related commercial shipping will continue to enjoy access to their ports, in accordance with domestic and international law, if they are flying the Red Ensign or another national flag when docked. We will continue to protest, at the UN and elsewhere, against Argentina's attempts to deny the people of the Falkland Islands their right to trade openly and without hindrance, including in our response to the letter circulated by the Argentine delegation to the UN on 3 January.

Foreign Policy

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a list of the countries currently subject to country business plans.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office internally maintains country business plans for all states in which it represents the interests of the Government. These are used for internal planning in support of the Government’s foreign policy priorities and the Department's business plan which is available on our public website
	www.fco.gov.uk

Iraq: Christianity

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of reports of the persecution of Christians in Iraq and the security of acts of Christian worship, including over the Christmas period; what representations he has made to the Iraqi Government about the need to protect Christians in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The security situation for Christians has generally improved over the past 12 months, although the situation facing Iraq's ethnic and religious groups remains precarious. We are not aware of any major attacks against Christians that occurred over the Christmas period, although some Christian services are reported to have been cancelled for security reasons. The Government of Iraq have pledged their commitment to safeguarding places of worship and providing adequate protection to all their minority groups, including increasing security on the streets of Baghdad. We continue to monitor the situation closely and have raised our concerns at the highest levels with the Iraqi Government. In the past, both the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), have raised the persecution of Christians with the Iraqi Government, and I raised it most recently with the Iraqi Human Rights Minister on 12 January. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to fund project activity to promote religious tolerance. We have agreed to fund a further meeting of the High Council of Religious Leaders in Iraq, which seeks to bring together religious leaders from all faiths to combat sectarian violence.

Israel: Borders

Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Israeli Government on its proposals to further extend parts of the security wall into Palestinian territory.

Alistair Burt: The British Government support Israel’s right to defend itself. However, where the security barrier is built on Occupied Palestinian land outside of green line Israel, its route is illegal according to both international and Israeli law.
	I visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) between 8 to 10 January 2012, my third visit in the past year. Having seen the situation for myself, I raised our concerns with Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Danny Ayalon, including the security situation in the west bank, access issues for Palestinians in the OPTs and the security barrier.
	Our officials in Tel Aviv regularly raise the issue of the barrier with the Israeli authorities.

Israel: Prisoners

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the report submitted to the United Nations on 28 December 2011 on the use of solitary confinement on Palestinian children held in Israeli detention; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We are aware of this report which raises serious concerns about the treatment of children in Israeli detention facilities. We await to see how the UN responds. The treatment of children in detention in Israel is an issue of concern to the UK. Together with EU partners, the UK monitors the situation with regard to all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and raises our concerns with the Israeli Government as appropriate.

Kashmir: Politics and Government

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he (a) has had and (b) plans to have meetings with his Indian and Pakistani counterparts on peaceful resolution of the Kashmir conflict.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), regularly speaks to his US, Indian and Pakistani counterparts about regional issues including relations between Indian and Pakistan. Officials in our high commissions in Islamabad and New Delhi regularly discuss India-Pakistan relations, including Kashmir, with their counterparts in both countries.
	With the US and EU we recognise the importance of finding a lasting solution to the situation in Kashmir but it is not for third parties to prescribe one. It is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting resolution, one which takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people. A solution to the Kashmir dispute is something that both sides will need to develop.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Israeli Government on the number of checkpoints in the Gaza Strip.

Alistair Burt: I visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) on 8 to 10 January 2012, my third visit in the past year. During my visit, I discussed movement and access issues, including those relating to checkpoints, with the Israeli authorities. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), visited the region on 17-18 December 2011, including the Gaza Strip, and discussed movement and access issues across the OPTs.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the operation of checkpoints in the Gaza Strip; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: I visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) on 8 to 10 January 2012, my third visit in the past year, during which I discussed movement and access issues, including those relating to checkpoints, with the Israeli authorities. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) visited the region on 17-18 December 2011, including the Gaza Strip, and discussed movement and access issues across the OPTs.
	Our ambassador to Tel Aviv raises these concerns regularly with Israeli authorities. The issue of restrictions on Gaza was also formally raised by the UK at the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting of donors in New York on 18 September 2011 both in the plenary session and in bilateral meetings with the Israeli delegation in the margins of the main event. We continue to work closely with the Quartet and EU partners, and to call on Israel to ease restrictions on access.

Nagorno Karabakh: Peace Negotiations

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the progress of Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks; and what steps he plans to take to facilitate a possible resolution.

David Lidington: Peace and stability in the Caucasus is an important objective for the Government. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk group leads the negotiations on behalf of the international community in finding a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In December the co-chairs of the Minsk Group (US, France and Russia) and the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents issued a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to peace and identifying areas of potential co-operation, such as a mechanism to investigate ceasefire violations.
	We support the work of the Minsk Group and regularly discuss progress with them and the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan. We will continue to monitor developments closely. We have funded project work to 'Strengthen the groundwork or a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through close engagement with civil society in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh' worth £1.06 million this financial year through the Conflict Pool (a programme fluid administered jointly by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and Department for International Development with the aim of preventing and managing conflicts).

Stephen Crouch

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings Ministers in his Department have had with Stephen Crouch since May 2010.

David Lidington: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) on 8 November 2011, Official Report, column 157W.

Sudan: Ethnic Groups

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on UK support for the request that the submission from the Dinka Ngok people of Abyei Area be considered at the 80th session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Henry Bellingham: It is for the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, as an independent expert body, to decide whether to consider this case.
	We are deeply concerned about the welfare of the 100,000 people who have been displaced from their homes in Abyei. We urge the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan to implement their existing agreements in full, in particular the 20 June Agreement on Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the Abyei Area, and the 8 September decision of the Abyei Area Joint Oversight Committee. We also urge both parties to withdraw their armed forces fully, allow unfettered humanitarian access, and establish an Abyei Area Administration. This will allow security to be provided by the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei and displaced people to return home.
	We call on the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan to work together to find a peaceful long-term political solution to the status of Abyei. This should be resolved by negotiations between the parties in a manner consistent with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and not by the unilateral actions of either party.

Syria: Human Rights

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will impose travel bans and other sanctions on the 74 Syrian military and intelligence officers named in the Human Rights Watch report on individual and command responsibility for crimes against humanity in Syria; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Of the 74 Syrian military and intelligence officers named in the December Human Rights Watch report, 17 are already subject to EU travel bans and a freeze on assets, including President Assad. A full list of individuals listed by the EU can be found on the HM Treasury website:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/syria.htm
	Where the UK believes there is good evidence that an individual is responsible for violence and repression against the Syrian people, we will work with our EU partners to impose travel bans and asset freezes on them.
	The UK has stated that those accused of the most serious of international crimes must be held to account for their actions. There must be no impunity and we will continue to work with our international partners to ensure this.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), made clear in his statement on 1 December, the ten rounds of EU sanctions, agreed to date, targeted on President Assad, his regime and those who support them aim to increase pressure on the Syrian regime to stop the continuing violent repression of the Syrian people. I welcome these moves which send a clear message that the Syrian regime's actions have left it isolated.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Sovereignty: Scotland

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps his Department is taking to prepare for the possibility of independence for Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Harper: The Government are committed to keeping the United Kingdom together. Responsibility for constitutional issues relating to Scotland rests with the Secretary of State for Scotland.

Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for East Londonderry of 12 December 2011, Official Report, column 480W, on domestic visits, on which dates he visited Wales; and for what purposes.

Nicholas Clegg: I have visited Wales twice, in an official capacity, since coming into office. The first occasion was a Town Hall event in Cardiff on 30 September 2010, and the second visit was for a Regional Cabinet meeting on 12 July 2011.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Apprentices

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work and training placements will be created in Ashfield constituency under the proposed youth contract scheme.

Chris Grayling: The Youth Contract is a national package of measures and the take up of work and training opportunities will depend on the level of need and demand in different locations. The breakdown of opportunities at constituency level is not available. The Department will monitor take-up as the policy is implemented and an evaluation strategy for the Youth Contract is currently being developed.

Debt Collection

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many times his Department has used the services of debt recovery companies since May 2010; which companies were used; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The volumes of debtors serviced by the debt recovery companies since May 2010, and the debt recovery companies used, are detailed in the following table:
	
		
			 Company Volume of debtors 
			 CCS Collect 104,941 
			 Credit Solutions 91,658 
			 Fairfax 54,498 
			 iQOR 96,966 
			 Total 348,063 
			 Data Source: Departmental Systems of the Commercial Management Team. This does not form official statistics but is derived from Management Information. 
		
	
	The Department uses external debt collecting agencies to help in the recovery of the more difficult cases.
	Where the Department has been unsuccessful in seeking recovery and has exhausted the options available to enforce recovery; or has been unable to locate a customer, the case may be passed to a private sector partners.
	Our partners will then attempt to trace the debtor and seek recovery as our agents. This will include taking civil enforcement action if necessary.
	Legal action would be taken only in cases where customers will not pay; it would never be considered in cases where the customer cannot pay.
	The Department is currently exploring opportunities to increase its levels of engagement with its private sector partners to further enhance our ability to recover outstanding overpayments.

Departmental Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many apprentices were employed by each public body for which his Department is responsible between (a) April 2010 and March 2011 and (b) April and December 2011; and how many apprenticeships he expects each public body to sponsor between (i) January and March 2012 and (ii) April 2012 and March 2013.

Chris Grayling: The number of apprentices employed by each public body for which my Department is responsible for is as follows:
	
		
			  April 2010 to March 2011 April 2011 to December 2011 January 2012 to March 2012 April 2012 to March 2013 
			 Health and Safety Executive 0 0 0 10 
			 Remploy Ltd 6 (1)6 (1)6 (2)— 
			 (1) These are the same six individuals throughout.( 2) Not yet known. Unable to provide information as all recruitment is subject to a planning approval process. 
		
	
	None of my Department's other public bodies have employed or anticipate employing any apprentices during the periods shown.
	Additionally, the number of apprentices employed by Department for Work and Pensions is as follows:
	(a) April 2010 and March 2011
	During 2010-11, DWP did not employ any apprentices; however following agreement with the Permanent Secretary they did commence an apprenticeship programme for 75 existing staff.
	(b) April and December 2011
	In October 2011, DWP employed 107 apprentices between the ages of 16 to 24 from the unemployment register to support Get Britain Working.
	The number of apprentices the Department for Work and Pensions expects to sponsor between:
	(i) January and March 2012
	DWP does not expect to employ any more apprentices between January and March 2012. They will continue to support the apprentices that they employed in October 2011.
	(ii) April 2012 and March 2013
	DWP expects to employ a minimum of 100 apprentices aged between 16 and 24, between the dates stated.

Departmental Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to sponsor apprenticeships in each of the public bodies for which his Department is responsible between (a) April 2010 and March 2011, (b) April 2011 and March 2012 and (c) April 2012 and March 2013.

Chris Grayling: The amount of funding available from the public purse which has been allocated to sponsor apprenticeships in each of the public bodies for which my Department is responsible for is as follows:
	
		
			 £ 
			  April 2010 to March 2011 April 2011 to March 2012 April 2012 to March 2013 
			 Health and Safety Executive 0 0 (1)166,000 
			 Remploy Ltd 60,000 60,000 (2)— 
			 (1) The apprentices will be funded from within HSE's existing payroll allocation and amounts to the total above. (2) Not yet known. Unable to provide information as all recruitment is subject to a planning approval process. 
		
	
	None of my Department's other public bodies have employed or anticipate employing any apprentices during the period shown.

Departmental Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much funding his Department allocated to sponsor apprenticeships in his Department in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and how much such funding he plans to allocate in 2012-13.

Chris Grayling: In response to the parliamentary question asking the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith):
	how much funding his Department allocated to sponsor apprenticeships in his Department in:
	(a) April 2010 to March 2011—During the period concerned DWP paid for the assessment of 75 employees to undertake an apprenticeship programme, this was at a cost of £555,547;
	(b) April 2011 to March 2012—The cost of the current group of recruited apprentices is £2,405,234; this includes recruitment and the strategic partner assessment costs;
	and how much such funding he plans to allocate in 2012-13:
	To take 100 apprentices through a full programme during the period April 2012 and March 2013 is expected to cost £4,186,578, including recruitment and strategic partner costs.

Departmental Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many apprentices were employed by his Department between (a) April 2010 and March 2011 and (b) April and December 2011; and how many apprenticeships his Department will sponsor between (i) January and March 2012 and (ii) April and March 2013.

Chris Grayling: In response to the parliamentary question asking the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith):
	how many apprentices were employed by his Department between:
	(a) April 2010 and March 2011—DWP did not directly employ any apprentices; however following agreement with the Permanent Secretary they did commence an apprenticeship programme for 75 existing staff;
	(b) April and December 2011—In October 2011, DWP employed 107 apprentices between the ages of 16 to 24 from the unemployment register to support Get Britain Working;
	and how many apprenticeships he plans that his Department will sponsor between:
	(i) January and March 2012—DWP does not expect to employ any more apprentices between January and March 2012. They will continue to support the apprentices that they employed in October 2011;
	(ii) April and March 2013—DWP expects to employ a minimum of 100 apprentices aged between 16 and 24, between the dates stated.

Departmental Catering

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on food purchased through its food and catering services in the last 12 month period for which information is available.

Chris Grayling: Since 1998 the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) occupies the majority of its accommodation under a private finance initiative (PFI) known as the PRIME Contract. Under the terms of this PFI the Department leases back fully serviced accommodation from its private sector partner Telereal Trillium. This covers a variety of facilities including, where appropriate, the provision of catering services which is delivered through Telereal Trillium's service partner Compass Group UK, trading as Eurest. Eurest undertakes all catering activity including food procurement for around 130 sites across the departmental estate. Where staff restaurant facilities are available, the Department would normally use these for the provision of any hospitality or working lunches required. For the remainder of the estate, these services would be procured locally on an ad-hoc basis.
	The expenditure on officially provided food and refreshments for the period April 2010 to March 2011 was £572,236. However, the Department implemented a change in policy about the provision of refreshments and working lunches around June 2010, significantly reducing expenditure. Thus, for the most recent 12-month period available—from January to December 2011—the total spend is reduced to £134,577. As a further comparison, expenditure in the 12-month period from January to December 2009 was £883,649.

Departmental Equality

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what equality impact assessments his Department has carried out since May 2010; and for what purpose in each case.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions considers the effect on equality during the policy making process right through to implementation. It does this to ensure the needs of all groups of people are taken into account when we develop and implement a new policy or service or when we make a change to a current policy or service. It provides information about these considerations in various ways. In the specified period, this information was sometimes published in the form of an equality impact assessment, but not always as there is no legal requirement to publish such a document.
	During this period the Department for Work and Pensions, including Jobcentre Plus, the Pensions Service and Disability Carers Service, published over 100 equality impact assessments that are available to the public online on the Department's website:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/impact-assessments/equality-impact-assessments

Departmental Pay

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many speechwriters his Department employs at each pay grade.

Chris Grayling: This Department employs one speechwriter at pay grade HEO(D).

Employment Agencies

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on recruitment agencies in each month since September 2011.

Chris Grayling: DWP spend on recruitment agencies since September 2011 was as follows:
	
		
			 £ 
			  September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 Total 
			 Hays Executive 10,000 6,945 0 16,945 
			 TMP Worldwide 0 0 13,995 13,995 
			 Capita Resourcing Ltd(1) 0 0 16,277 16,277 
			 Capita Resourcing Ltd(2) 1,019,883 622,611 1,104,237 2,746,731 
			 Total 1,029,883 629,556 1,134,509 2,793,948 
			 (1) Capita Resourcing Ltd managed recruitment for the DWP Financial Management Development Scheme and Procurement Management Development Scheme. (2) Capita Resourcing Ltd also provides a managed service to DWP to supply interim personnel and specialist contactors on an agency basis. Agency workers are employed and paid by Capita. The figures represent the total fee paid to Capita by DWP including the fees paid by Capita to the agency workers. 
		
	
	DWP uses recruitment agencies to recruit to specialist posts where there is no internal expertise in specific sectors of employment.
	Hays Executive managed a recruitment for members of the Social Security Advisory Committee.
	TMP Worldwide managed a recruitment for Legal Professionals.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of jobseekers who started on the flexible new deal entered employment up to (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) nine months and (d) 12 months after starting on the programme.

Chris Grayling: Flexible new deal providers were paid for jobs which lasted for 13 weeks (short job outcomes) or 26 out of 30 weeks (sustained job outcomes). Participants stayed on the programme for up to 12 months although three-month extensions were available.
	The following figures are based on participants who started prior to September 2010 and hence could have spent a year on the programme prior to contract termination. They show the percentage of participants who achieved a 13-week job outcome which started within three to 12 months of their entry to flexible new deal.
	
		
			 Percentage of FND participants who achieved job outcome which started by : Percentage 
			 3 months 10 
			 6 months 16 
			 9 months 19 
			 12 months 21 
			 Source: Provider Referrals and Payment System Management Information (December 2011).

Employment: Overseas Residence

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the proposed Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on a single application procedure for a single permit for third-country nationals to reside and work in the territory of a Member State and on a common set of rights for third-country workers legally residing in a Member State; what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the directive on welfare and benefits payments; what estimate he has made of the total cost of implementing the directive's provisions relevant to his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The United Kingdom has not opted into this directive and is not therefore required to implement it.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the June 2010 Budget, whether the estimated saving arising from the introduction of the social sector size criteria from 2013-14 took account of the effect of new rents charged at affordable market rent levels.

Steve Webb: The policy on affordable rents was announced in the 2010 spending review.
	Estimates of the savings likely to result from the introduction of the social sector size criteria have been based upon the information collected as part of the Family Resources Survey in 2008-09. Rent levels have been increased to reflect forecast increases in social sector rents, but take no account of the introduction of affordable rents.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people moving (a) into and (b) out of the social rented sector as a result of the introduction of the social sector size criteria from 2013-14.

Steve Webb: One of the aims of the social sector size criteria is to help increase mobility within the social rented sector. Figures from the English Housing Survey for 2009-10 suggest that only around 5% of tenants living in the social rented sector moved within the sector during the year.
	Housing benefit claimants affected by the size criteria are likely to have a number of choices. This could include moving into work or increasing working hours. It could also involve claimants moving to alternative accommodation in the social rented sector, or possibly downsizing into smaller accommodation in the private rented sector. We are unable to accurately estimate the numbers moving out of, or into, the social rented sector as different claimants are likely to have different options available to them, and will respond in a variety of ways to the introduction of the size criteria.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the June 2010 Budget, what methodology his Department used to determine the £490 million saving to the public purse arising from the introduction of the social sector size criteria from 2013-14.

Steve Webb: The method used to calculate savings from changes to housing benefit for working age social tenants contained within the June 2010 Budget report was published by HM Treasury in the Budget 2010 policy costings document.
	The document can be found at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/junebudget_costings.pdf

Maternity Pay: Public Expenditure

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost to the public purse was of statutory maternity pay (SMP) paid during the first six weeks of maternity leave; and what proportion this was of total SMP for the most recent period for which figures are available.

Maria Miller: In 2009-10, we estimate that employers recovered a total of £2.02 billion from the national insurance fund with respect to statutory maternity pay.
	This figure is based on provisional employer returns to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and is subject to change following of late recoveries or adjustments.
	The employer returns do not detail how much of the total expenditure relates to the first six weeks of maternity leave. However, internal estimates place this at around £0.79 billion, accounting for almost two-fifths of total recorded SMP recoveries.

Pension Credit

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of tenants over pension credit age who will be affected by the size criteria reduction in benefit entitlement in each year in the period 2013 to 2017.

Steve Webb: The information is not available.
	The introduction of size criteria from 2013-14 for housing benefit claimants living in the social rented sector will only affect working-age claimants.
	The age threshold for distinguishing working-age from pension-age for benefit purposes is generally based upon the qualifying age for pension credit. This age threshold is gradually increasing over time. A small number of claimants over this age threshold may choose to claim a working-age benefit, such as income-based jobseeker's allowance instead of pension credit. These claimants would also be treated as working-age for housing benefit purposes.
	For couples currently claiming housing benefit, both the claimant and their partner need to be under the qualifying age for pension credit to be treated as working-age. When universal credit is introduced, if either member in a couple is under the qualifying age for pension credit then the couple would be treated as working-age.
	They would then be expected to access universal credit rather than pension credit.
	It is intended that those already in receipt of pension credit at the point of change will be protected, and continue to receive pension credit as long as they continue to meet the other qualifying conditions.

Social Security Benefits: Overseas Residence

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to recent judgements by the European Court of Justice what his policy is on the application of the past presence test to benefit claimants living abroad.

Chris Grayling: The past presence test is a requirement in UK legislation that a person must have been in the UK for 26 out of 52 weeks before they make a claim to certain benefits.
	The Court of Justice of the EU issued a judgment in the case of a young person who lived in Spain and applied for incapacity benefit (Youth) (Case C-503/09).
	The court said that it is not acceptable for us to refuse to pay a benefit to a person who had lived in Spain for a number of years and thus did not meet the past presence condition, if they could otherwise demonstrate that they had genuine and significant links to the UK. The court found that the past presence test was too narrow in focus to determine the issue. We accept that, in relation to claims from abroad, it is therefore necessary to consider the claimant's links to the UK in accordance with the criteria outlined by the court in this case.
	We are carefully considering the wider implications of the judgment, and will be issuing guidance in due course.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of children in each age group who will be in households in receipt of universal credit once it is fully introduced.

Chris Grayling: The following table provides an estimate of the number and proportion of children broken down by age group who will be in households entitled to universal credit once it is fully introduced.
	
		
			 Age of child (a) Number of children in households entitled to universal credit (Million) (b) Proportion of children in each age group in households entitled to universal credit (%) 
			 0 to 4 2.2 55 
			 5 to 10 2.1 55 
			 11 to 15 1.8 50 
			 16 to 18 0.6 45 
			 Total 6.7 50 
		
	
	The number of children has been rounded to the nearest 0.1 million and the proportion has been rounded to the nearest 5%.
	These estimates have been made using the Department’s Policy Simulation Model, which is based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS), and is consistent with the updated Impact Assessment for Universal Credit which was published in October 2011, where case load information was provided on the basis of entitlement.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what indicative forecasts he has made of the (a) amounts and (b) budget headings for spending under the universal credit programme in each of the next three years.

Chris Grayling: The 2010 spending review settlement included funding of £2 billion for the period 2011-12 to 2014-15. This is intended to meet all the costs of introducing universal credit including any increases in benefit expenditure, additional benefit administration costs in the transition period, the cost of IT development and implementation, communications, staff training and programme management.
	The Department is currently forecasting to spend £105 million of the budget allocated to the implementation of universal credit in the financial year 2011-12. Plans for future year expenditure remain under development, alongside programme plans.

Work Capability Assessments

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to update the guidance issued to Atos on assessing claims by people living with HIV.

Chris Grayling: We are planning to review the guidance (evidence based protocol and learning set) on HIV/AIDS for Atos health care professionals this year.

Work Capability Assessments

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of proposed disability entitlement test on people living with HIV.

Maria Miller: The personal independence payment assessment is being designed to consider an individual's personal circumstances, their ability to participate in society and the support they need, rather than basing eligibility on any medical condition they may have. As such it is not possible to provide an assessment of how individuals with certain conditions, such as HIV, will be affected.
	We are still developing the assessment criteria for personal independence payment and will be providing initial information on the second draft of the assessment criteria in advance of our debate on personal independence payment at Lords Report Stage of the Welfare Reform Bill.
	It is our intention to begin a formal consultation on the assessment criteria in its entirety shortly which will provide individuals and disability organisations with a further opportunity to tell us their thoughts and further engage in the developmental process. Officials have previously met with the Terrence Higgins Trust and National Aids Trust and will seek to do so as part of the forthcoming consultation.

Work Capability Assessments

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent meetings he has had with HIV groups on planned changes to the work capability assessment.

Chris Grayling: Ministers and officials hold regular meetings about the work capability assessment (WCA) with a range of stakeholders including those representing people with HIV. The National Aids Trust were represented at the ministerial launch of the second Independent Review of the WCA on 24 November 2011.
	The National Aids Trust are also part of the group of stakeholders Professor Harrington has asked to look at the way the WCA accounts for fluctuating conditions. Their report was submitted to the Department during late November and we are considering these proposals closely.

Work Capability Assessments

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recommendations following a work capability assessment made by Atos (a) to place a claimant in (i) the support group and (ii) the work-related activity group and (b) finding a claimant fit for work were overturned by his Department when making an initial decision since the introduction of the assessment.

Chris Grayling: Decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA) rest solely with the Department’s Decision Makers taking into account the medical assessment reports from Atos and any other relevant information.
	The following table shows the recommendations made by Atos together with the final decision made by the DWP Decision Makers. For example, there were 597,100 claimants where the recommendation from Atos at initial assessment was ‘fit for work’, of these, 564,800 received a final fit for work decision, but 27,700 were assessed to be in the work-related activity group and 4,700 were assessed to be in the support group.
	There were also around 24,000 clerical assessments where the Atos recommendation cannot be determined but the claimants subsequently received a decision from DWP.
	The table presents data for all completed initial work capability assessments for ESA claims from October 2008 up to May 2011 (the latest data available).
	
		
			   DWP decision 
			   FFW WRAG SG Total 
			 Atos Recommendation FFW 564,800 27,700 4,700 597,100 
			  WRAG 600 212,600 4,200 217,500 
			  SG 100 600 90,200 90,900 
			  Unknown 10,000 12,000 2,000 24,000 
			  Total 575,400 253,000 101,000 929,500 
			 Note: All figures have been rounded to the nearest 100 and as a result may not sum to totals.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what date he plans to undertake the next stocktake of Work programme providers.

Chris Grayling: The next stock take is due to be undertaken on 30 January 2012.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to publish the most recent indicative volumes for claimants entering the Work programme over the next five years.

Chris Grayling: This and future iterations of the indicative Work programme volumes (which will be updated twice per year in line with the OBR forecasting/Budget cycles) will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what data Work programme providers are required to collect to facilitate subsequent reporting in line with the requirements of the UK Statistics Authority.

Chris Grayling: DWP is developing official statistics on the information recorded by providers on the payment administrative system. The information collected is subject to regular validation checks to ensure providers are paid correctly for job outcomes and sustainment payments claimed, which in turn will help guarantee the accuracy of information which is released. Prior to the release of any figures DWP will perform extra validation checks to ensure that official statistics meet the appropriate standards for publication.
	Providers have not been given specific instructions regarding the collation of data for the purpose of publishing official statistics, only that they should adhere to the code of practice which can be viewed via the following link:
	http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/code-of-practice/code-of-practice-for-official-statistics.pdf
	In addition, the DWP ensures that the National Statistician's guidance on the use of administrative or management information is followed. This can be viewed via the following link:
	http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/national-statistician/ns-reports--reviews-and-guidance/national-statistician-s-guidance/use-of-administrative-or-management-information.pdf

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the (a) sufficiency and (b) scope of the information on claimants passed to Work programme providers by Jobcentre Plus; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: An independent evaluation of the Work programme has been commissioned that will gain detailed feedback from participants on their experience of the Work programme; the support they received, how it was delivered and which types of support were most effective in moving people into sustainable work. This will include specific questions about the handover of information between Jobcentre Plus and their Work programme provider and whether continuity of service was maintained. The evaluation will start later this year with the full report due to be published in 2014.

CABINET OFFICE

Cancer: Redditch

Karen Lumley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people aged between 13 and 24 were diagnosed with cancer in Redditch in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people aged between 13 and 24 years have been diagnosed with cancer in Redditch in the most recent period for which data are available.
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2009. Please note that these numbers may not be the same as the number of people diagnosed with cancer, because one person may be diagnosed with more than one cancer.
	In the Redditch parliamentary constituency, which is coterminous with the Redditch local authority district, there were six new diagnoses of cancer(1) registered for persons aged between 13 and 24 years in 2009.
	The latest published figures on the incidence of cancer in England are available on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases .html?definition=tcm%3A77-27454
	(1) Cancer is defined using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C00-C97 excluding code C44, non-melanoma skin cancer.

Death

Paul Goggins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many deaths were registered in each constituent part of the UK in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2012
	As Director General for. the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths were registered in each constituent part of the UK in each of the last five years. (89958)
	The following table provides the number of deaths registered for each constituent country of the United Kingdom between 2006 and 2010 (the latest year available).
	Further information about the trends in mortality in the UK over the last 30 years, including age-standardised mortality rates for constituent countries, will be published on 20th January and will be available from the Office for National Statistics at:
	http://ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/mortality-ageing/mortality-in-the-united-kingdom/mortality-in-the-united-kingdom-2010/mortality-in-the-uk-2010.html
	More detailed information for each of the constituent countries is available separately. Annual figures on the number of deaths registered in England and Wales are available from the Office for National Statistics at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases. html?definition=tcm%3A77-27475
	Figures for Scotland are available in the annual Vital Events Reference Tables produced by the National Records for Scotland at:
	http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/theme/vital-events/general/ref-tables/index.html
	Figures for Northern Ireland are available in an annual statistical bulletin produced by the Northern Ireland Research and Statistics Agency at:
	http://www.nisra.gov.uk/demography/default.asp23.htm
	
		
			 Number of deaths registered in the United Kingdom by constituent country, 2006 to 2010 (1,2) 
			 Deaths (persons) 
			  2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 England 470,326 470,721 475,762 459,242 461,017 
			 Scotland 55,093 55,986 55,700 53,856 53,967 
			 Wales 31,083 32,148 32,066 31,005 31,197 
			 Northern Ireland 14,532 14,649 14,907 14,413 14,457 
			 (1) Figures include deaths of non-residents. (2) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. Source: Office for National Statistics, National Records for Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

Death: Greater London

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the perinatal mortality rate was for children in (a) Poplar and Limehouse constituency, (b) the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and (c) nationally in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2012
	.
	The latest available figures for perinatal mortality are for the year 2010. The table attached provides the perinatal mortality rates for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and for England and Wales in 2010.
	Annual sub-national data on the number of deaths registered in England and Wales is available from the Office for National Statistics at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases. html?definition=tcm%3A77-27478
	Figures for perinatal mortality in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in 2010 can be found in table 1a of the linked publication for 2010.
	Perinatal mortality rates for the Poplar and Limehouse Parliamentary Constituency have not been given in line with the current ONS policy on protecting confidentiality with birth and death statistics available at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/best-practice/disclosure-control-policy-for-birth-and-death-statistics/index.html
	
		
			 Table 1: Perinatal mortality rates (1 ) with 95% confidence limits (2)  for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and England and Wales (3) , 2010 
			   95% confidence limits 
			 Area Perinatal mortality rate Lower limit Upper limit 
			 London Borough of Tower Hamlets 7.8 5.5 10.8 
			     
			 England and Wales 7.4 7.2 7.6 
			 (1) Perinatal deaths per 1,000 live births and stillbirths. (2) Confidence intervals are a measure of the statistical precision of an estimate and show the range of uncertainty around the estimated figure. Calculations based on small numbers of events are often subject to random fluctuations. As a general rule, if the confidence interval around one figure overlaps with the interval around another, we cannot say with certainty that there is more than a chance difference between the two figures. (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents.

Departmental Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how much funding his Department allocated to sponsor apprenticeships in his Department in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and how much such funding he plans to allocate in 2012-13;
	(2)  how many apprentices were employed by his Department between (a) April 2010 and March 2011 and (b) April and December 2011; and how many apprenticeships he plans that his Department will sponsor between (i) January and March 2012 and (ii) April and March 2013.

Francis Maude: Apprenticeships are a key feature of Cabinet Office skills and resourcing strategies. Cabinet Office provides apprenticeships as a development opportunity for existing staff who are not already qualified to degree level; or as an appointment type for new recruits at entry level administrative grade or first line management.
	Funding to support apprenticeships in 2010-11 was £59,165.53 to fund five apprenticeships. Funding to support apprenticeships from 1 April 2011 to 31 December 2012 was £140,022.16 to fund 10 apprentices. The Department plans to allocate the same level of funding in 2012-13 to support 10 new apprentices.

Departmental Equality

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what equality impact assessments his Department has carried out since May 2010; and for what purpose in each case.

Francis Maude: My Department has complied with all legislative requirements.
	Individual units are responsible for conducting equality impact assessments on relevant policies or services. The Cabinet Office does not hold records on individual impact assessments centrally. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Security

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what (a) guidance and (b) training is in place for officials in his Department on the operation of protective marking schemes; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many documents were protectively marked at each level of protection in each Government department in each year since 2005;
	(3)  what (a) guidance and (b) training he has put in place for officials to ensure that protective marking of documents is used for the purpose of national security and does not restrict the principles of open and transparent government;
	(4)  what monitoring of protectively marked documents takes place across Government departments to ensure that they are being appropriately classified.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office Security Policy Framework (SPF), available on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/resource-library/security-policy-framework
	provides Departments with comprehensive advice and guidance on all security matters, including the Government Protective Marking Scheme (GPMS). This guidance requires Departments to foster a professional and positive security culture by ensuring that staff are aware of departmental security policies and understand their responsibilities. Risk management underpins all HMG security controls, and there is a strong emphasis on ensuring that controls are only applied appropriately and proportionately.
	Within the Cabinet Office itself staff are provided with guidance and trained on their responsibilities via induction courses and refresher briefings. Detailed advice is published on the Department's intranet site, and ad hoc reminders are issued when appropriate. Further guidance is provided on request by the Departmental Security Unit. Staff handling protectively marked information are given plain English guidance about security controls along with advice on how relevant legislation (such as the Official Secrets Act and the Freedom of Information Act) relates to their role. The appropriate application of the GPMS would does not restrict the principles of open and transparent Government.
	There is no central record of protectively marked documents or other assets and such information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Nor is there any central monitoring, however a light touch compliance regime requires Departments to provide the Cabinet Office with a robust level of assurance that security and information risks are being appropriately managed.

Departmental Work Experience

Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance is issued to Departments on the employment of unpaid interns.

Francis Maude: In line with the Social Mobility Strategy, only paid internships are permissible.
	The civil service ran three paid Whitehall Internship programmes during 2011, targeted at the following groups:
	Undergraduate/Graduate level
	College level
	Secondary school
	In addition, individual business units have provision to also run their own departmental paid internship schemes.

Disadvantaged

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office by what means his Department measures levels of (a) social mobility and (b) social inequality; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: “Opening Doors, Breaking Barriers: A Strategy for Social Mobility”, launched by the Deputy Prime Minister in April 2011 developed a set of leading indicators of likely future trends in social mobility. These indicators, and the policy needed to deliver against them, are owned by the relevant Departments and included in their business plans. The document is available at
	http://www.dpm.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files_dpm/resources/opening-doors-breaking-barriers.pdf
	The Social Justice Cabinet Committee, chaired by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, focuses on issues relating to poverty, equality and Social Justice, and facilitates cross-Government working and scrutiny of policies for their effects on some of the most disadvantaged groups on society.

Disadvantaged

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions he had with the Secretary of State for (a) Education, (b) Business, Innovation and Skills, (c) Communities and Local Government and (d) Health on social inequality between (i) May 2010 and May 2011 and (ii) June and December 2011.

Francis Maude: Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-external-organisations
	As has been the practice of previous Administrations, information relating to internal Government meetings, discussions and advice is not normally disclosed. Disclosure of such meetings would inhibit free and frank discussions between Ministers.

Honours

John Mann: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in each parliamentary constituency (a) were nominated for and (b) received an honour in (i) the 2011 New Year Honours list and (ii) the Queen's Official Birthday Honours list 2010.

Francis Maude: The Honours and Appointments Secretariat, which is responsible for the operation of the honours system, does not hold information about honours nominees or honours recipients in the format requested. The Secretariat does not hold centrally geographical information about every honours nominee because not all nominations are made directly to the Secretariat. Full geographical information for all honours recipients is held centrally, but not broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Public Sector: Manpower

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the change in the proportion of working age population employed by the public sector in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland between 2001 and 2011.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the-responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking, what estimate has been made of the change in the proportion of working age population employed by the public sector in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland between 2001 and 2011. 89449.
	Estimates of regional employment for the UK public sector are published on a quarterly basis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). These estimates are only available on a consistent basis back to 2008.
	Mid-year population estimates for the UK are published annually by ONS. Mid-2010 estimates were published on 30 June 2011 and are the latest available. Data for 2011 are based on 2010-based national population projections published on 26 October 2011.
	The requested data for the period 2008-2011, for which consistent data are available, are attached at Table 1.
	
		
			 Table 1: Regional public sector employment rates as a percentage of the working age population (16 to 64 years) (1, 2, 3) 
			 Percentage of working age population 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 (4) 
			 England 14.4 15.0 14.9 14.3 
			 Wales 17.9 18.4 18.2 17.7 
			 Scotland(5) 17.5 18.5 18.1 17.3 
			 Northern Ireland(6) 19.5 20.0 19.6 19.0 
			 (1 )Annual figures relate to June quarter (Q2). (2 )Rates are based on ONS's official estimates of Public Sector Employment. These estimates exclude approximately 40,000 public sector employees that could not be assigned to a region. (3 )Public Sector Employment estimates are based on where people are employed, whereas mid-year population estimates are based on country of residence. (4 )Working age population estimates for 2011 are based on 2010-based national population projections. (5 )Public sector employment estimates for Scotland are provided by Scottish Government to ONS on a quarterly basis. (6 )Estimates for Northern Ireland will differ to those published by DETINl. The ONS figures include HM Forces Personnel.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much funding his Department provided to (a) Action on Addiction, (b) Adoption UK, (c) the Adoption and Fostering Information Line, (d) the Child Bereavement Charity, (e) Well Child and (f) each of East Anglia's childrens hospices in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: In the financial year 2010-11 and up to the end of December in 2011-12, the Cabinet Office has not directly funded Action on Addiction, Adoption UK, the Adoption and Fostering Information Line, the Child Bereavement Charity, or Well Child.
	Cabinet Office systems cannot identify whether funding has been provided to East Anglia's Children's hospices without the names of individual organisations.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Arms Trade

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to ensure a transparent reporting mechanism and effective monitoring and verification procedures are part of any agreement on the Arms Trade Treaty.

Andrew Mitchell: I refer the hon. Member to the response given by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), on 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 74W.
	The Government's commitment to transparent export controls is demonstrated through the publication of the UK's annual report on strategic export controls. The UK continues to argue for effective transparency mechanisms within an arms trade treaty, both on the treaty's application and its implementation, and regularly raises the issue in its meetings with other states and during the UN negotiations.

Arms Trade

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution his Department is making to developing policy on the inclusion of import, export, re-export, transit, transhipment, brokering activities and the gifting, loan or lease of arms within the terms of the arms trade treaty.

Andrew Mitchell: I refer the hon. Member to the response given by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) on 10 January 2012, Official Report , column 75W.
	The UK supports an arms trade treaty (ATT) with a broad scope that covers a range of activities and transfers. The cross-Whitehall team on ATT has held a number of technical meetings on different aspects of the treaty, including how different types of transfer and activity could be dealt with by an ATT, and these meetings will continue as we approach the UN conference in July 2012.

Arms Trade

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department provides (a) training and (b) detailed briefings on the arms trade treaty to staff working in overseas posts; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the treaty is raised in all relevant bi-lateral meetings.

Alan Duncan: I refer the right hon. Member to the response given by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), on 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 75W.
	The UK maintains a leading global position on an arms trade treaty (ATT), and regularly provides updates and briefing on the treaty to overseas posts and senior officials. ATT is regularly raised in bilateral and multilateral meetings with states, and this outreach will intensify as we approach the crucial negotiating conference in July 2012.

Arms Trade

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution his Department has made to policy development on including small arms, light weapons and ammunition within the terms of the arms trade treaty.

Alan Duncan: I refer the right hon. Member to the response given by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), on 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 75W.
	The UK supports a comprehensive scope for an arms trade treaty (ATT), including small arms and light .weapons and ammunition. The cross-Whitehall team on ATT has held a number of technical meetings on different aspects of the treaty, including on the treaty's scope, and these meetings will continue as we approach the UN conference in July 2012.

Arms Trade

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to ensure negotiations for an arms trade treaty in 2012 include representatives from civil society and non-governmental organisations.

Alan Duncan: I refer the right hon. Member to the response given by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), on 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 76W.
	Civil society and non-governmental organisations have played a crucial role in the progress made on an arms trade treaty (ATT) so far, including through regular meetings with UK officials and by providing a representative on the UK ATT team. Alongside Ambassador Moritan of Argentina, the Chair of the UN process on ATT, the UK has worked to ensure that civil society retain a voice in the UN Preparatory Committee meetings, and we will continue to support this approach at the UN conference in 2012.

Bhutan: Overseas Aid

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department gave to Bhutan in 2011.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not have a bilateral assistance programme with Bhutan. DFID focuses its bilateral aid in 27 countries where we believe our support will have the biggest impact and where the need is greatest.
	DFID does however provide financial support to a wider range of countries, including Bhutan, through our increasing contributions to multilateral organisations such as the United Nations and the International Financial Institutions. The estimated UK share of multilateral aid to Bhutan was £1,020,000 in 2009, the latest year for which such figures are available. Statistics on UK aid are published in DFID's annual report and accounts which may be found on the DFID website:
	www.dfid.gov.uk

Departmental Location

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development in which countries his Department had directly-employed and posted staff in 2011.

Alan Duncan: Details of the countries in which the Department for International Development (DFID) had employees on DFID postings, as at 31 December 2011, are shown in the following list:
	Afghanistan
	Bangladesh
	Barbados
	Belgium
	Bosnia
	Brazil
	Burma
	Burundi
	China
	Democratic Republic of Congo
	Ethiopia
	Ghana
	Guyana
	India
	Indonesia
	Iraq
	Jamaica
	Israel (inc. Palestine Occupied Territories)
	Kenya
	Kosovo
	Kyrgyzstan
	Libya
	Malawi
	Montserrat
	Mozambique
	Nepal
	Nigeria
	Pakistan
	Rwanda
	Serbia
	Sierra Leone
	South Africa
	South Sudan
	St Helena
	Sudan
	Tajikistan
	Tanzania
	Turks and Caicos Islands
	Uganda
	Vietnam
	Yemen
	Zambia
	Zimbabwe.

Departmental Manpower

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many speechwriters his Department employs at each pay grade.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development employs one speechwriter at A2 grade.

Departmental Records

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's policy is on record keeping for official meetings.

Alan Duncan: In line with the Civil Service Code, our policy is to create accurate records of official meetings where substantive issues are discussed.

Departmental Responsibilities

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the terms of reference are for the dedicated private sector team in his Department.

Andrew Mitchell: The Private Sector Department was established in January 2011 as part of the coalition Government’s commitment to support vibrant, resilient and growing business sectors in the poorest countries.
	The context, vision and anticipated results of the Private Sector Department are set out in its operational plan available here:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications1/op/priv-sect-dept-2011.pdf
	Further information on the Department for International Development’s work with and on the private sector can be found in the 2011 publication, “The engine of development”, available here:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications1/Private-sector-approach-paper-May2011.pdf

Departmental Responsibilities

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what new projects related to (a) property rights, (b) microfinance, (c) small and medium-sized enterprise finance and (d) investment climate reform have been developed following the commitment in section 3.1(ii) of his Department's most recent business plan.

Andrew Mitchell: Property rights feature in three of several programmes developed on investment climate. Two programmes are in implementation: (i) the Facility to Utilise UK Specialist Expertise from UK government departments (iFUSE) and (ii) a programme to strengthen regulatory and planning capacity for infrastructure development in Mozambique. The design of a third programme in Nigeria was strengthened to improve impact. The development of three additional programmes in Ghana, Ethiopia and Tanzania is advanced while a new programme is at an early stage of development in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
	Several financial sector programmes have been developed, which incorporate microfinance and small and medium sized enterprise (SME) finance components. These include new financial sector development programmes in India and Zimbabwe and two centrally funded multi-country SME finance and microfinance initiatives. Other financial sector programmes in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal, Pakistan, Uganda and Zambia are in the advanced stages of design.

Developing Countries: Agriculture

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's policy is on support for the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program.

Andrew Mitchell: Ministers are considering whether providing funds for the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program would represent value for money and make a significant, additional contribution to our support for agriculture and food and nutrition security in developing countries.

Developing Countries: Education

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has any plans to introduce voucher schemes to access education in any of his Department's programmes up to 2015.

Alan Duncan: DFID is interested in all programmes or schemes which increase the number of boys and girls gaining access to basic education and are cost-effective for the UK taxpayer. Where the barriers to education (particularly for girls) are financial we will help to find a way to overcome them including, for example, through voucher schemes or stipend programmes targeted at girls. These schemes put purchasing power in the hands of the poor. DFID is currently assessing the use of voucher schemes in India and Pakistan.
	For example, DFID's support to the Punjab Education Foundation delivers quality education to one million children through its Foundation Assisted Schools as well as Voucher Programmes. The Voucher Programme, designed specially to support out of school children, is being expanded to all 36 districts of Punjab and will support 300,000 children in the next three years.

Developing Countries: Elections

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to his Department's Business Plan, in which countries his Department is supporting electoral processes.

Andrew Mitchell: DFID's Business Plan for 2011-15 commits to supporting at least 13 countries to hold freer and fairer elections. In addition to supporting elections, DFID programmes work to strengthen democratic institutions such as parliaments, and improve political participation by marginalised groups such as women.
	Currently DFID has programmes to support electoral processes and democratic institutions in 13 countries:
	Afghanistan;
	Bangladesh;
	Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC);
	Ghana;
	Kenya;
	Malawi;
	Mozambique;
	Nigeria;
	Pakistan;
	Sierra Leone;
	Tanzania;
	Uganda; and
	Zambia.
	During 2011 these programmes supported elections in DRC, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia. New programmes are being planned in Yemen for the interim presidential elections, and in Nepal and Zimbabwe, subject on elections being announced.

Food Aid

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on the Charter to End Extreme Hunger.

Alan Duncan: The Government supports the Charter to End Extreme Hunger's aim to reduce the likelihood of crises such as that currently affecting the Horn of Africa taking place in the future. In at-risk areas such as the Horn, we are already supporting the strengthened warning systems, resilience to disasters and stability that the Charter calls for. In Ethiopia, for example, we are helping 7.8 million people to break their need for emergency aid by providing support before food insecurity reaches famine levels.
	Analysis conducted by the Department for International Development concluded that of the Charter's 13 commitments, the Government are already carrying out seven and considering another two. The four remaining commitments we deem to be unworkable. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), wrote in November to the non-governmental organisations behind the Charter to express the Government's appreciation for their vital work and to note that he will take appropriate opportunities to express publicly his support for the Charter's aims.

Food Aid

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will endorse the Charter to End Extreme Hunger.

Alan Duncan: The Government supports the Charter to End Extreme Hunger's aim to reduce the likelihood of crises such as that currently affecting the Horn of Africa taking place in the future. In at-risk areas such as the Horn, we are already supporting the strengthened warning systems, resilience to disasters and stability that the Charter calls for. In Ethiopia, for example, we are helping 7.8 million people to break their need for emergency aid by providing support before food insecurity reaches famine levels.
	Analysis conducted by the Department for International Development concluded that of the Charter's 13 commitments, the Government are already carrying out seven and considering another two. The four remaining commitments we deem to be unworkable. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), wrote in November to the non-governmental organisations behind the Charter to note therefore that while the Government will not formally endorse the Charter, he will take appropriate opportunities to express publicly his support for the Charter's aims.

Food Aid

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make it his policy to endorse the Save the Children Charter to End Extreme Hunger.

Alan Duncan: The Government support the Charter to End Extreme Hunger's aim to reduce the likelihood of crises such as that currently affecting the Horn of Africa taking place in the future. In at-risk areas such as the Horn, we are already supporting the strengthened warning systems, resilience to disasters and stability that the charter calls for. In Ethiopia, for example, we are helping 7.8 million people to break their need for emergency aid by providing support before food insecurity reaches famine levels.
	Analysis conducted by the Department for International Development concluded that of the charter's 13 commitments, the Government are already carrying out seven and considering another two. The four remaining commitments we deem to be unworkable. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), wrote in November to the non-governmental organisations behind the charter to note therefore that while the Government will not formally endorse the charter, he will take appropriate opportunities to express publicly his support for the charter's aims.

International Assistance: Pilot Schemes

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development in which countries the (a) Results-Based Aid and (b) cash-on-delivery contracts pilot schemes are running; and when he expects to announce his Department's assessment of the pilot schemes.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) is developing innovative results based aid (RBA) pilots to test this new approach and develop an evidence base of what works. We have designed three pilots and are planning more. We are the first donor to implement the Cash on Delivery model—a form of RBA originally devised by the Centre for Global Development—through an education pilot in Ethiopia. We have another education RBA pilot in Rwanda and a health RBA pilot in Northern Uganda. Rigorous independent evaluation is built in to all our pilots. Our pilots are just starting, and will have to run for two to three years to generate robust evidence. Results from these evaluations will be available from mid to late 2014.

International Citizen Service

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the (a) set-up and (b) running costs of the International Citizen Service.

Andrew Mitchell: In 2011, DFID launched a one year pilot phase of the International Citizen Service (ICS) offering 1,250 young people a chance to volunteer in developing countries. The cost of the pilot phase to DFID is £9 million.
	The independent mid term evaluation of the ICS Pilot, completed by ITAD in October 2011, found that the costs of the ICS pilot were justified, though it noted that economies of scale could be achieved in a few areas as the programme increased in size.
	DFID is using these findings to inform the ongoing tender process for the full programme to ensure that value for money is achieved. The full programme will offer a chance for 7,000 young people to volunteer in developing countries.

Overseas Aid

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to his Department's Business Plan, what progress his Department has made in discussions with other Government departments on a joint approach to enhance British soft power.

Andrew Mitchell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence are drawing up a strategy outlining the UK Government's approach to soft power. We aim to publish this strategy later in the year.

Reviews: Internet

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress his Department has made in establishing an internet-based evidence bank of quality-assessed evidence papers and systematic reviews as proposed in section 2.1(iv) of its most recent business plan.

Andrew Mitchell: An intranet-based evidence base of quality-assessed evidence papers and systematic reviews has been established and is now available to the Department for International Development (DFID) staff. We are developing and refining the database. In addition all quality-assessed evidence papers and systematic reviews funded by DFID are publically available for free download from the Research for Development section of DFID's website.

UN Central Emergency Response Fund

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on European co-ordination of donations to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on EU contributions to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund.

Alan Duncan: The UK is leading the way in contributing to the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) which was assessed as good value for money in the UK's Multilateral Aid Review and has been shown to contribute to a more effective humanitarian system by helping to save more lives in the critical first hours after a disaster hits. Many other European countries are significant contributors to the CERF. I recently called upon all our international partners, including European partners, to ensure that the CERF remains fully funded. In 2012 we exceptionally allocated an additional £20 million to CERF for 2012 from our 2011-12 budget.

UN Central Emergency Response Fund

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what comparative assessment he has made of the UK contribution to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund and that of (a) France, (b) Germany, (c) Korea, (d) Japan and (e) the US.

Alan Duncan: The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) was assessed as good value for money in the UK's Multilateral Aid Review and has been shown to contribute to a more effective humanitarian system by helping to save more lives in the critical first hours after a disaster hits.
	Recognising the CERF's vital role, the Department for International Development recently agreed a package of predictable multi-year funding set against the CERF's UN mandated funding target. The UK is leading the way in contributing to the CERF and we exceptionally allocated an additional £20 million to CERF for 2012 from our 2011-12 budget. We have called on all other partners to increase their contributions to this vital fund.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Emissions

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the UK economy of compliance with a possible future EU target of reducing carbon emissions by 30 per cent.

Gregory Barker: We are in discussion with the European Commission and our EU partners to develop a shared understanding of how an EU 30% greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target would be split between member states, as well as assessing options for delivering the UK's share, and therefore what the precise economic implications for each member state might be.
	A full assessment of the potential effect on the UK economy can only be provided when the EU has concluded negotiations on whether and how to move to a 30% GHG reduction target.

Carbon Emissions

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what economic assessments of the impact of proposed UK emissions reductions were prepared for the British delegation to the Copenhagen conference in 2009.

Gregory Barker: In July 2009, the previous Administration published a Low Carbon Transition Plan and an accompanying analytical annex that set out how the UK would reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet our first three carbon budgets and the cost to the UK of doing so, consistent with reducing emissions by at least 34% by 2020.
	Were we to move to a higher 2020 target and set new carbon budgets consistent with that, then the Climate Change Act requires that we publish our proposals and policies for delivering those emissions reductions as soon as is practicable following the setting of new budgets in legislation. As EU negotiations on whether to move to a higher target are ongoing, and there is no agreed EU methodology yet for moving to 30%, we continue to assess the impact on the UK of moving to a higher target against a range of possible scenarios.

Carbon Emissions: EU Action

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the changes to UK carbon emission targets that would be necessary to comply with an EU reduction target of 30 per cent.

Gregory Barker: Changes to UK greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets will be discussed and agreed among EU member states as part of the negotiation process for moving to a 30% EU GHG reduction target.
	We cannot prejudge the outcome of this negotiation but we are willing to deliver our fair share of a higher EU 2020 GHG reduction target (currently this is at least 34% cut on 1990 levels) and that we would need to tighten our carbon budgets accordingly.

Coal: Imports

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much (a) coal and (b) gas was imported in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008, (iii) 2009 and (iv) 2010; and what estimate he has made of the effect of renewable electricity generation on levels of imports of (A) coal and (B) gas in the period from 2010 to 2020.

Charles Hendry: The amounts of coal and gas imported into the UK for each year between 2007 and 2010 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Coal (ktonnes) 43,364 43,875 38,167 26,521 
			 Natural gas (GWh) 338,026 407,054 455,789 589,497 
		
	
	The Department has made no estimates on the impact of renewable electricity generation on the levels of imports of coal and gas.

Electricity

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what consideration he has given to including measures to encourage energy efficiency in his Department's technical update to its White Paper on electricity market reform.

Charles Hendry: Energy efficiency will play a central role in tackling climate change and ensuring secure and affordable energy supplies. The Department demonstrates clear commitment to promoting energy efficiency through flagship policies such as the Green Deal and energy company obligation.
	The aim of the electricity market reform (EMR) technical update was to set out, at a high level, the Government's choice of model for the capacity mechanism and institutional framework for delivering the EMR package. The technical update does also confirm that we are progressing the commitment in the EMR White Paper to assess whether there is sufficient support and incentives to make efficiency improvements in electricity usage and consider whether there is a need for appropriate additional measures. This assessment will complete by summer 2012.

Electricity: Imports

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of the electricity consumed in the UK was generated outside the UK in each of the last four quarters for which figures are available; and what proportion he expects to be generated outside the UK in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013.

Charles Hendry: The following table shows the proportion of electricity consumed in the UK that is generated outside (ie imports).
	
		
			  UK electricity imports (GWh) UK electricity demand (GWh) Imports share of UK electricity demand (percentage) 
			 2010 Q4 1,479 103,931 1.4 
			 2011 Q1 1,787 103,972 1.7 
			 2011 Q2 2,054 85,883 2.4 
			 2011 Q3 2,656 84,821 3.1 
			 Source: Energy Trends, December 2011, table ET 5.2, available at: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/Statistics/energy_stats/source/electricity/electricity.aspx 
		
	
	The following table shows the proportion of electricity consumed in the UK that is projected to be imported in 2012 and 2013 in DECC's latest published emissions projections published in October 2011, see:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/about/ec_social_res/analytic_projs/en_emis_projs/en_emis_projs.aspx
	These projections are based on one possible scenario incorporating a number of assumptions and do not take account of Government plans for electricity market reform. Using different assumptions would lead to different results.
	
		
			  Projected UK electricity imports (GWh) Projected UK electricity demand (GWh) Projected imports share of UK electricity demand (percentage) 
			 2012 7,500 369,600 2.0 
			 2013 7,800 367,200 2.1

Energy

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects to publish his Department’s statistics for energy consumption at sub-national level during 2010.

Charles Hendry: Table 1 details release dates for sub-national energy consumption datasets relating to 2010. These data, along with previous releases, will be available on the Department’s website at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/energy_stats/regional/regional.aspx
	
		
			 Table 1: Timetable of release dates for sub-national energy consumption statistics 
			 Fuel Geography Release date 
			 Gas Local Authority level 22 December 2011 
			  Middle and Lower Layer Super Output Area 29 March 2012 
			    
			 Electricity Local Authority level(1) 29 March 2012 
			  Middle and Lower Layer Super Output Area 29 March 2012 
			    
			 Road Transport Local Authority level 28 June 2012 
			    
			 Residual fuels Local Authority level 20 December 2012 
			    
			 Total final consumption Local Authority level 20 December 2012 
			 (1) Data for electricity consumption at local authority level for 2010 has been delayed from 22 December 2011 to 29 March 2012 while further investigations of some data quality issues are resolved.

Energy Performance Certificates

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has considered classifying property in Energy Performance Certificate bands F and G as Category 1 hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.

Andrew Stunell: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	When carrying out assessments under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, local authorities may assess the dwellings for excess cold using their energy rating. The Rating System Operating Guidance recommends using a SAP 2001 rating of 35 or below, which includes all properties with an Energy Performance rating of G and the majority of those with an F rating, as the threshold for consideration as a Category 1 hazard where the local authority has a duty to take action.
	Environmental Health Officers will also make a judgment about the type of property, the inhabitants and what type of heating system has been installed before coming to their conclusions about whether a Category 1 hazard exists and what remedial action is necessary. If notice is served there is a right of appeal through the Residential Property Tribunal who will consider if the notice is reasonable.
	We have no plans to review the operation of the Housing Health and Safety System or its associated enforcement regime.

Energy: Older People

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what steps the Government is taking to increase the affordability of energy for elderly people during the winter;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take to make energy bills more affordable for elderly people.

Gregory Barker: The Government are committed to helping people, especially low income vulnerable households, heat their homes more affordably.
	The Warm Home Discount scheme will assist 2 million households each year, including over 600,000 pensioners in receipt of pension credit guarantee credit who will receive a Core Group discount of £120 off their electricity bill this winter, automatically without having to apply for it.
	In addition, we continue to fund the Warm Front scheme, providing low income vulnerable households, living in energy inefficient properties, with energy efficient heating and insulation measures. We are also requiring suppliers to provide energy efficiency measures to low income vulnerable households through the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target, Super Priority Group.
	In addition, the Department for Work and Pensions provides pensioner households with winter fuel payments to help with additional heating costs during the winter. Cold weather payments are also made to low income and vulnerable households where there is an average temperature of 0°C or below for seven consecutive days. These payments have been permanently increased to £25 per week and in winter 2010/11 over 17 million cold weather payments were paid in Great Britain worth an estimated £430 million.
	In the future, the Green Deal and new Energy Company Obligation (ECO) will be one of our key policies. ECO will provide “affordable warmth” to low income vulnerable households through heating and insulation measures.

Forests: Developing Countries

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of recent research into advance market commitments in support of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries.

Gregory Barker: Advance market commitments are one of the mechanisms that we have been exploring in developing a programme of spend for UK REDD+ finance under the UK's £2.9 billion International Climate Fund. We will be providing more detail on the UK's proposed REDD+ programme later in the spring.

Green Deal Scheme

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether consequential work required as a result of a Green Deal assessment will be covered by Green Deal financing; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: No additional requirements for work to be completed are incurred simply by undertaking the assessment: the consumer is able to decide what they wish to install from the recommended list of measures. We are proposing to allow Green Deal providers to include preparatory and unexpected costs related to the installation of Green Deal measures, in Green Deal finance, up to the limit the Golden Rule principle allows. The Green Deal Code of Practice seeks to ensure customers are notified of any additional costs as soon as is reasonably practical.

Green Deal Scheme

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps will be taken in the event that a Green Deal assessor is reported for providing partial advice; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The code of practice the Government will put in place for Green Deal assessors will require the assessment and associated advice to be impartial. Appropriate sanctions will be applied for non-compliance such as suspension or withdrawal of licences to operate under the Green Deal.

Natural Gas: Pipelines

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what reports he has received on progress with the Nabucco project; and what his policy is on the project.

Charles Hendry: Nabucco is one of four potential pipeline projects under consideration by the Shah Deniz consortium, who own the Shah Deniz II gas reserves in Azerbaijan, to bring the gas to the heart of Europe. The pipeline choice is for the Shah Deniz consortium and the UK Government have received no reports from the consortium on progress. The UK supports the development of a commercially viable route for delivery of gas from the Caspian to Europe through a 'Southern Corridor' gas pipeline.

Natural Gas: Pipelines

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he proposes to publish the results of his Department's consultation on the implementation of changes to the Paris and Brussels Conventions on nuclear third party liability.

Charles Hendry: The Government intend to publish the response to this consultation in the near future.

Postal Services: Carbon Emissions

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment has been made of the effect of journeys to deliver goods ordered online to domestic premises on emissions of carbon dioxide.

Gregory Barker: No specific assessment has been made of the effect of journeys to deliver goods ordered on line to domestic premises on emissions of carbon dioxide.

Renewable Energy

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much electricity was generated by renewable energy projects in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) the UK in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008, (iii) 2009, (iv) 2010 and (v) 2011.

Charles Hendry: The following table shows how much electricity was generated by renewable energy projects in England, Scotland, Wales and the UK in 2007 to 2010. Provisional data for 2011 will be available on 29 March 2012, and final data by 27 September 2012.
	
		
			 Electricity generated from renewable energy projects 
			 GWh 
			  England Scotland Wales UK 
			 2007 9,593 8,216 1,369 19,600 
			 2008 10,316 8,988 1,627 21,565 
			 2009 11,969 10,730 1,609 25,182 
			 2010 13,777 9,515 1,621 25,734

Renewable Energy

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he has taken to monitor progress in implementing the Government's objective of securing 15 per cent. of all energy used from renewable sources by 2020, in each of the devolved regions of the UK.

Gregory Barker: The Department publishes the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics (DUKES) each July. This presents the results of monitoring renewable energy consumption across the UK. In 2010 (the latest data available in DUKES 2011), 3.3% of the UK's energy came from renewable sources.
	While a breakdown is not available for progress in renewable energy in each of the devolved regions of the UK, the December 2011 issue of DECC's quarterly Energy Trends publication provides data for renewable electricity generation in each of the devolved regions. Table Al of December 201l's Energy Trends shows the share of renewable electricity generation across the devolved regions of the UK for 2007-10. For 2010, this was 19.1% in Scotland, 5.1% in Wales, 10.3% in Northern Ireland and 4.7% in England.
	DUKES and Energy Trends are available from our website at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/publications/publications.aspx

Renewables Obligation

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the average amount added to a domestic energy bill by renewables obligation payments in (a) 2007, (b) 2008, (c) 2009, (d) 2010 and (e) 2011.

Charles Hendry: The renewables obligation (RO) places the obligation of supporting investment in large-scale renewable electricity generation on energy suppliers. It is expected that energy suppliers will pass the cost of this obligation onto their various energy customers through their energy bills.
	To help ensure that policies achieve their objectives cost effectively and affordably the Government introduced a framework to control levy funded spending by DECC at Budget 2011. This framework, covering the renewables obligation, feed-in tariff scheme and the Warm Home Discount, forms part of the Government's public spending framework which the Treasury has responsibility for. The Government have been reviewing the levels of support (‘RO bands’) under the renewables obligation, with a focus on delivering renewable energy to help meet the 2020 renewables target in a cost-effective manner in order to minimise costs to consumers.
	An estimated average amount added directly to a domestic energy bill by RO payments in each year between 2007 and 2011 is presented in the following table. These estimates are based on annual costs of the RO from annual reports published by Ofgem multiplied by the share of total UK electricity demand in each year accounted for by households(1) divided by the number of UK households in each year(2). The actual cost of the RO on each household's energy bill in a given year may differ depending on how energy suppliers pass on the costs of the policy to their customers.
	
		
			 Estimated average amount added directly to domestic energy bill by RO payments, 2007-11 (real 2010-11 prices) 
			  Estimated average RO cost on domestic energy bill (£) 
			 2007 13 
			 2008 14 
		
	
	
		
			 2009 16 
			 2010 17 
			 2011 19 
			 Note: Ofgem has not published the costs for 2011 so numbers are based on the estimated RO cost for 2011. 
		
	
	On 23 November 2011, alongside the Annual Energy Statement, DECC published an assessment of the cumulative impact of climate change and energy polices on energy prices and bills in 2011, 2020 and 2030, available online at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/aes/impacts/impacts.aspx
	The headline message for the household sector was that the average household energy bill in 2020 was estimated to be around 7% lower than it would have been in the same year if energy and climate change policies were not introduced. This result is based on DECC's fossil fuel price scenario consistent with a wholesale gas price of 68p/th in 2020 (in real 2010 prices).
	(1) Digest of UK Energy Statistics, available online at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/energy_stats/energy_stats.aspx
	(2) Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) projections.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of legal proceedings arising from the decision to reduce feed-in tariffs for solar energy.

Gregory Barker: I estimate that the Government have incurred costs of approximately £58,000 to date. In the event that we are successful on appeal we would expect to recover all, or a substantial proportion, of our costs.

Wind Power

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what guidance his Department issues to ensure that the location of wind farms is in conformity with local plans.

Bob Neill: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	It is a legal requirement that planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. We published a consultation draft of the new National Planning Policy Framework in July 2011 which sets out our policies for renewable energy (including wind farms), the preparation of local plans and development management. We are committed to the publication of the final version of the Framework by 31 March 2012, but intend to do so well ahead of that time.